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HISTORY 



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STUDIES IN THE HISTORY 

OF ENGLISH COMMERCE 

IN THE TUDOR PERIOD 



I. The Organization and Early History of the Muscovy 
Company 

By ARMAND J. GERSON, Ph.D. 

II. English Trading Expeditions into Asia under the Author- 
. ity of the Muscovy Company (1557-1581) 
By EARNEST V. VAUGHN, Ph.D. 

III. English Trade in the Baltic During the Reign of Elizabeth 
By NEVA RUTH DEARDORFF, Ph.D. 




UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK 

1912 



SS*A 



J 






Copyright, 1912 
By the University of Pennsylvania 



,1. F. TAPLEY CO. 
NEW YORK 



£CU320648 

it 



GRATEFULLY DEDICATED 
TO 

EDWARD POTTS CHEYNEY 

BY THE AUTHORS 



GENERAL CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction ix 

I. The Organization and Early History of the 

Muscovy Company 1 

II. Expeditions to the South and East under the 

Muscovy Company 127 

III. English Trade to the Baltic During the Reign 

of Elizabeth 219 



INTRODUCTION 

Nowhere did the vigor of the English people during the 
Tudor period show itself more clearly than in the field 
of commerce. This was especially true in the second half 
of the sixteenth century. Enterprising merchants, bold 
navigators and speculating nobles and courtiers united to 
carry expeditions far into previously unexplored parts of 
the earth, and to open up lines of trade with regions, well 
known it is true, but in which Englishmen had seldom 
been seen as visitors and never before as traders. In ac- 
cordance with the almost universal practice of the time 
each of these projects led to the organization of a com- 
mercial company and the grant to it by the government 
of extensive chartered rights. 

The group of studies contained in this volume describe 
this newly organized trade, so far as it was directed toward 
the north and northeast. The disappearance of most of 
the records of the early commercial companies, due in all 
probability largely to the great fire of London in 1666, 
leaves the story to be pieced together from scattered ma- 
terials. Such sources as have been printed have been 
carefully and critically used in the preparation of these 
papers. This printed material has been supplemented by 
reference to such manuscript records as still exist in Eng- 
land. Manuscript records existing in the continental 
countries and still imprinted remain as a possible source 
of information not yet utilized. 

The earliest of the new trading bodies was the Muscovy 
or Russia Company. Its only predecessors were the 
Staplers, the Merchants Adventurers, and the Spanish 
Company. It presented many of the typical character- 
istics of the period. It was established as the result of 



x INTRODUCTION 

a bold effort to reach the much sought trading lands of 
the far East, and it constantly recurred to this search 
throughout its early history. It brought England into 
contact with a new body of people, customs, interests and 
problems which appealed strongly to the imagination of 
the curiosity-loving Elizabethan Englishman. The com- 
pany was given by its charter a complete commercial 
monopoly, and political rights which were copied but 
hardly extended in the case of any later chartered body. 
Its existence gave occasion for most of the diplomatic rela- 
tions between England and Russia for more than half a 
century, and the costs of this intercourse were paid for 
out of its treasury. The difficulties of the Muscovy Com- 
pany, which constitute the main part of its annals that 
have come down to us, were the natural difficulties of a 
company striving to retain a privileged position both in 
the country of which its members were citizens, and in the 
country in which its trading interests lay. Its officers were 
men whose names are well known not only in London civic 
history but in many other activities of a commercial nature. 
The efforts of the Muscovy Company to open up a trade 
with the far East by this distant route were so early in 
time, so persistent, so bold in conception, and came so 
near to attaining success that they seem to justify a spe- 
cial description. This is the subject of the second of the 
essays in this volume. The successive voyages down the 
Volga, across the Caspian, and into Persia and the lands 
where Tartars and Turks were still in conflict, brought 
Englishmen into contact with still another group of races, 
whose boundaries they were to approach later from an- 
other direction. Notwithstanding its length, this route 
avoided for Englishmen certain difficulties presented by 
every other mode of approach to the far East, and for a 
while it seemed that it might be successfully established. 
Indeed it has been tried at more than one later period. 



INTRODUCTION xi 

But at this time as well as later it proved a failure. The 
efforts during the sixteenth century have left only too 
little detailed record, but the main outline of events and 
the causes of their failure come out with sufficient clear- 
ness in the narrative. 

English trade to the Baltic during this period, culminat- 
ing in the organization of the Eastland or Baltic Com- 
pany and its establishment of a principal settlement in 
one of the Baltic cities, the subject of the third essay, in- 
volves a different set of surrounding circumstances, but 
one no less typical of the period. The sphere of activity 
was closer to England, but the struggle with competitors 
already on the ground and the complications of European 
politics were all the more intense. The documents con- 
nected with this subject are also somewhat more unfa- 
miliar, and a larger part of this study has been made 
from manuscript materials previously unused. The earli- 
est years only of the company are described in detail and 
its later history remains to be written. The whole group 
of questions connected with English trade with the shores 
of the Baltic, and English relations with the states bor- 
dering upon them is a complicated one and involves many 
political as well as economic factors. 

The lines of trade described in this volume represent 
only one part of the field of Elizabethan commercial en- 
terprise. But if the history of these companies and their 
congeners in other regions were adequately described and 
fully understood, we would have gone far toward a com- 
prehension of most of the foreign relations and much of 
the internal life of England at that period. 

Edward P. Cheyney. 
University of Pennsylvania, 
February, 1912. 



The Organization and Early History 
of the Muscovy Company 



Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Pennsylvania in partial fulfilment of the requirements 
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1910. 



By ARMAND J. GERSON, Ph.D. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB PAGE 

I. The Establishment of Russian Relations 1 

II. The Organization of the Muscovy Company 22 

III. The English Government and the Company 46 

IV. The Russian Government and the Company 73 

V. Trade and Exploration 93 

Appendix 116 

List of Sources 121 



THE ORGANIZATION AND EARLY HISTORY OF 
THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

CHAPTER I 

THE ESTABLISHMENT OP RUSSIAN RELATIONS 

The idea of a northern route to the Indies made a pe- 
culiar appeal to the adventurous and commercial instincts 
of the Englishmen of the sixteenth century. The reason is 
easily discernible in the international commercial rival- 
ries of the period. The vessels of Spain and Portugal had 
rounded the southern extremities of both continents in 
the race for the jewels and spices of the Orient, and those 
countries were sharing the profits of that rich trade. It 
was natural that England should desire her share in the 
new commercial development. Her geographical position 
and the preemption of the southwest and southeast routes 
by her rivals of southern Europe led her merchant leaders 
to look toward the north for a new road to the wealth of 
Asia. That England should have failed to open up a new 
trade route to India and Cathay is, of course, in the light 
of modern geographical knowledge, no cause for wonder. 
That in the attempt she accidentally established a com- 
munication and a thriving trade with Russia renders the 
northern voyages of her traders and explorers of large 
significance for the historian of European trade and civ- 
ilization. 

Between the northwestern voyages of the Cabots at the 
close of the fifteenth century and the explorations that led 
to the discovery of the northern coast of Russia in the mid- 
dle of the sixteenth there is no record of any serious attempt 
to try the northern route. That the idea was not entirely 
lost to view in the interval, however, is clearly indicated 



2 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

by a letter written by one Robert Thorne, a London mer- 
chant, in which he urges Henry VIII to organize a voyage 
of exploration by way of the Arctic regions. 1 The letter 
contains a very clear statement of the benefits to be de- 
rived. Reference is made to the advantages to mariners 
and explorers of the perpetual daylight of the Polar 
regions: "Yea what a vantage shal your Graces subjects 
have also by this light to discover the strange lands, coun- 
tries, and coasts 1 ' ' 2 The writer proceeds to point out 
with rather amusing naivete that having "past the Pole, 
it is plaine, they may decline to what part they list," 2 
China and the East Indies if they sail to the east, America 
and the West Indies if they direct their course to the 
west. 3 

It remained for the navigators of the next reign, how- 
ever, actually to put to the test of experience the attractive 
idea of a northern route. Toward the close of the reign 
of Edward VI, probably in the year 1552, a number of 
London merchants took up the project. A contemporary 
writer explains the motives that led to their action. The 
falling off of English trade led "certaine grave Citizens 
of London, and men of great wisedome, and carefull for 
the good of their Countrey" to take steps looking toward 
the improvement of this condition.* "Seeing that the 
wealth of the Spaniards and Portingales, by the discoverie 
and search of newe trades and Countrey s was marvellously 
increased, supposing the same to be a course and meane 
for them also to obteine the like, they therefore resolved 
upon a newe and strange Navigation. " 5 In search of ex- 
pert advice, the merchants sought out Sebastian Cabot 



i Hakluyt, The Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques, etc. of 
the English Nation, vol. II, p. 159. 

2 Ibid., II, 162. 

3 Ibid., II, 163. 
* Ibid., II, 239. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 3 

who was then residing in London. 5 Cabot was at that 
time a man seventy-five years of age and enjoyed a sin- 
gular prestige as the result of the remarkable explora- 
tions in which his life had been spent, and still more, per- 
haps, as a result of his remarkable reports of them. His 
unquestioned services had received substantial recognition 
from the government in the form of an annual pension of 
250 marks. 6 He seems to have been regarded with re- 
spect not unmingled with awe by the younger generation 
of merchants and navigators. Old as he was, he threw 
himself into the new plan and became the most active 
spirit in its organization. The result of the conference 
was a decision to fit out three vessels "for the search and 
disco verie of the Northerne part of the world, to open a 
way and passage to our men to travaile to newe and un- 
knowen kingdomes. ' ' 7 

Almost immediately the projectors of the venture seem 
to have recognized the necessity for a definite organiza- 
tion. They accordingly formed a sort of combination and 
chose Sebastian Cabot to be the governor of the "com- 
pany." "While we have no explicit statement of these 
early proceedings, indirect evidence is furnished by the 
document containing the instructions to the officers of the 
fleet at the time of their departure. That document 
is headed "Ordinances, instructions, . . . compiled, 
made, and delivered by the worshipfull M. Sebastian 
' Cabota Esquier, governour of the mysterie and companie 
of the Marchants adventurers for the discoverie of Re- 
gions, Dominions, Islands and places unknowen . . . ' ' 8 
At the close of the instructions we find, " In wit- 
nes whereof I Sebastian Cabota, Governour afore- 
said . . ., " 9 clearly indicating his official position. 

5 Hakluyt, II, 240. 

e Rymer, Foedera, Westin, O. XV, 181. H VI. p. III. 170. 

7 Hakluyt, II, 240. 

zibid., 195. 9 Ibid., II, 205. 



4 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

In regard to the rest of this early plan of organization 
we have the further contemporary statement that the mer- 
chants made choice "of certain grave and wise persons 
in maner of a Senate or companie, which should lay their 
heads together, and give their judgments and provide 
things requisite and profitable for all occasions." 10 This 
is the body to which Cabot makes reference in his in- 
structions where he speaks of them as the "Consuls and 
Assistants in London. ' ' u The detailed form of organi- 
zation indicated by this nomenclature is of interest as 
anticipating the plan prescribed by the Company's char- 
ter a few years later. 12 It would seem that the Company 
from the very first looked forward to a permanent cor- 
porate existence. 

The funds for the venture were raised by a contribu- 
tion of 25 pounds from each member of the Company. 13 
The fact that 6000 pounds was thus collected is very 
definite evidence as to the number belonging to the fel- 
lowship at the time of its first organization. There were 
evidently 240 members. This mode of raising the neces- 
sary money by equal subscriptions from the whole mem- 
bership is of significance as indicating a sort of joint 
stock idea in the Company's very inception. 

Three ships were secured and put in condition. They 
were furnished with arms and ammunition and thor- 
oughly prepared to resist any enemy they might meet at 
sea. 1 * Provisions were purchased and the ships victualed 
for eighteen months in view of the possibility that the 
outward trip and the homeward trip might each take six 
months and that another six months should be allowed for 
wintering in the unknown lands they hoped to reach. 

io Hakluyt, II, 240. 
ii Ibid., II, 201. 
12 Infra? P- 25 ff. 
is Hakluyt, II, 240. 
ulbid., II, 241. 






RUSSIAN RELATIONS 5 

Sir Hugh Willoughby under the title of Captain General 
was given charge of the little fleet and appointed "Ad- 
mirall with authoritie and commaund over all the rest. ' ' 15 
He is described by our contemporary narrator as of 
" goodly personage" and as having ''singular skill in the 
services of warre." Richard Chancellor was appointed to 
be second in command with the title of Pilot Major. 16 
Willoughby 's vessel, the Bona Speranza, a ship of 120 
tons, is spoken of as the "Admiral of the fleete" in conse- 
quence of carrying the Captain General. 17 The largest 
of the three ships, however, was the Edward Bonaventure 
of 160 tons, in which Richard Chancellor sailed. 18 The 
third and smallest of the fleet was the Confidentia of 90 
tons. 19 Each ship was accompanied by a pinnace and a 
small boat, and each carried, besides its quota of mariners, 
pursers, carpenters, cooks, etc., a number of merchants, 20 
Every officer, merchant, and servant was put under oath 
to serve the Company faithfully. 21 

Contemporary writers are silent on the question of the 
raising of men to man the vessels for the hazardous voy- 
age to unknown lands. There is clear evidence, however, 
to show that the practice of impressing sailors was re- 
sorted to. A warrant among the Admiralty Papers signed 
by Lord Admiral Clinton and bearing the date of 1553 
authorizes Sir Hugh Willoughby to press mariners for his 
ship about to sail for the north. 22 

Cabot, as we have already mentioned, drew up a list 
of instructions for the direction of the intended voyage. 

isHakluyt, II, 241. 
iej&id., II, 242. 
17 Ibid., II, 212. 
is Ibid., II, 213. 
i»Ibid., II, 214. 
20 ibid., II, 212-214. 
2i Ibid., II, 215. 

22 Cited by Marsden in Trans. R. H. 8., new series, Vol. XVI, p. 80, 
Cf. Gilbert's request for a similar privilege, infra, p. 112. 



6 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

This interesting document contains thirty-three articles 
and provides among other things that the rules shall be 
read aloud on the voyage "once every week ... to 
the intent that every man may the better remember his 
othe, conscience, duetie and charge. ' ' 23 The instructions 
are very comprehensive and at the same time practical. 
The importance of amity and obedience is strongly em- 
phasized and the men reminded of their oath to obey the 
Captain General and the captains and masters of their 
ships. A council of twelve, consisting of Willoughby, 
Chancellor, the masters of the three vessels, their mates, 
two merchants, "James Dalabere Gentleman" and "Mas- 
ter Richard Stafford Minister, " 24 is given authority to 
make rules for "the better conduction, and preservation 
of the fleete, and achieving of the voyage. " 25 A careful 
record of all incidents and observations is to be kept "to 
remain of record for the Company. ' ' 26 No sale of goods 
is to be made by individual merchants without the con- 
sent of those in charge of the voyage, 27 and all wares pur- 
chased are to be "wel ordred, packed, and conserved in 
one masse entirely" and an inventory presented to the 
Company so that the entire membership may receive the 
profits of the venture. 28 Besides these important provi- 
sions there are a number of detailed rulings such as the 
requirement of morning and evening religious services, 29 
the prohibition of blasphemy, 30 etc. A quaint combina- 
tion of piety and business sense is evident in the instruc- 
tion "not to disclose to any nation the state of our reli- 

23Hakluyt, II, 196. 

2iIUd., II, 206. 

25 Ibid., II, 196. 

26 Ibid., II, 197. 
2T Ibid., II, 200. 
2% Ibid., II, 201. 
29 Ibid., II, 199. 
so Ibid., II, 198. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 7 

gion, but to passe it over in silence, without any declara- 
tion of it, seeming to beare with such laws, and rites, as 
the place hath, where you shall arrive. ,,31 The wisdom 
of the experienced explorer is revealed in the advice, "If 
you shall be invited into any Lords or Rulers house, to 
dinner, or other parlance, goe in such order of strength, 
that you may be stronger than they, and be warie of woods 
and ambushes, and that your weapons be not out of your 
possessions, ' ' 32 as well as in the suggestion, l ' If you shall 
see them weare Lyons or Beares skinnes, having long 
bowes, and arrowes, be not afraid of that sight: for such 
be worne oftentimes more to feare strangers, then for any 
other cause. ' ' 32 

It is evident that the voyage was in many respects a 
national venture. We have already seen that the Lord 
Admiral had authorized the impressing of men. Cabot, 
in the document just cited, says, "you be not ignorant, 
how many persons, as well the kings majestie, the Lords 
of his honorable Counsel, this whole companie, . . . 
be replenished in their hearts with ardent desire to learne 
and know your estates, conditions, and welfares, and in 
what likelihood you be in, to obtain this notable enter- 
prise. ' ' 33 The most conclusive evidence of the interest 
of the Government in the new exploration is to be found, 
however, in a letter written by Edward VI and sent with 
the fleet. It is directed "To all Kings, Princes, Rulers, 
Judges, and Governours of the earth and all other having 
any excellent dignitie on the same, in all places under the 
universall heaven. ' ' 34 The letter makes a general offer 
of friendship to all princes and suggests the establishing 
of trade relations. It dwells upon the benefits of uni- 
versal peace and the efficacy of commercial relations as a 

3% Hakluyt, II, 202. 
32 Ibid., II, 203. 
^Ibid., II, 204. 
a* Ibid., II, 209. 



8 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

means to that end. The letter solicits permission for Wil- 
loughby and his companions to pass freely through the 
countries they may reach in their voyage, and promises 
reciprocal favors to the inhabitants of those lands "if at 
any time they shall come to our kingdomes.' , This was 
the document which was to inaugurate new and important 
international relations. We are told that copies were also 
written in Greek ' ' and divers other languages. ' ' 35 

The three vessels, provisioned, as we have said, for 
eighteen months, well manned and armed, loaded with 
merchandise, carrying the instructions of the Governor of 
the Company, and the letter of the king, left London 
May 10, 1553, 36 and proceeded down the Thames. For our 
knowledge of the events of this voyage we are chiefly in- 
debted to the account of Clement Adams, " schoolemaster 
to the Queene's henshmen," who received his information 
at first hand from Chancellor after the return of the lat- 
ter in 1554. 37 The less literary but more detailed record 
kept by Sir Hugh Willoughby up to the time of his death 
has also come down to us 38 and furnishes us with definite 
statements of detail extremely useful as a verification of 
Adams' narrative; it is particularly valuable for its rec- 
ord of the fate of the Speranza after its separation from 
the Edward Bonaventure. From this contemporary evi- 
dence it is not difficult to work out a consecutive account 
of the outward voyage. 

On May 11, the little fleet passed Greenwich, where the 

35Hakluyt, II, 211. 

36 This is the date recorded in Willoughby's Journal, Ibid., II, 217. 
The account written by Clement Adams, however, gives the date 
as May 20, Ibid., II, 244. Willoughby's evidence from its very na- 
ture is more to be relied upon for a matter of this sort than that 
of Adams. 

st Ibid., II, 239. The date of composition is fixed by the writer's 
evident ignorance of the fate of Willoughby, word of which reached 
London in the fall of 1555 {infra, p. 12), Ibid., II, 247. 

38 ibid., II, 212 ff. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 9 

court then resided and where King Edward lay in his last 
illness. 39 In his honor the ships discharged their guns 
"insomuch that the tops of the hilles sounded therewith" 
while the mariners shouted "till the skie rang again with 
the noyse thereof." Crowds collected on the river bank 
and courtiers waved farewell from the windows and tow- 
ers of the palace. 40 England was wishing God-speed to 
her voyagers to "lands unknowen." The fleet continued 
down the Thames slowly, being obliged to wait on favor- 
able winds and tide. 

On May 20 the ships were still in the Thames, having 
proceeded as far as Gravesend. 41 At last they sailed out 
to the open sea and turned their course to the north, still, 
however, keeping close to the English coast. On the 30th 
of May they "came against Yermouth about three leagues 
into the sea." 42 

During the first three weeks of June little or no head- 
way was made owing to contrary winds. On the 23rd 
they put out from the coast and sailed into the North 
Sea. 42 On the 27th an attempt was made to sail to the 
northwest "to the ende to fall with Shotland." 43 West 
winds prevented, however, and the three vessels contin- 
ued their course to the northeast. Bad weather again de- 
layed their progress. Until July 14 the ships struggled 
on "traversing and tracing the seas, by reason of sundry 
and manif olde contrary windes. ' ' 43 Then land was 
sighted to the east, Rost Island, off the coast of Norway. 
Here the voyagers landed on July 19 and remained for 
three days. 43 

On July 22 they departed from Rost sailing northeast 

along the Norwegian coast and continuing in this direc- 

39 HaJcluyt, II, 245. 
toibid., II, 244. 
^Ibid., II, 217. 
42 IUd., II, 218. 
*3/6id., II, 219. 



10 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

tion until the 27th when landing was made on another 
island which Willoughby calls "Lewfoot." " On the 30th 
they set sail once more still keeping land in sight to the 
east. 45 A boat from one of the islands furnished oppor- 
tunity to inquire if a pilot might be secured to guide them 
along the coast to "Fimnarke. " They were told that if 
they would land a pilot would next day bring them to 
"the wardhouse, 46 which is the strongest holde in Fin- 
marke, and most resorted to by report. ' ' 45 When they 
attempted to enter the harbor, however, "there came such 
flawes of winde and terrible whirlewinds , ' that the ships 
were compelled to put out to sea again. 45 

At a council called by Sir Hugh Willoughby an agree- 
ment was made that if the ships should at any time be 
separated by storm "every shippe should indevour his 
best to goe to Wardhouse, a haven or castell of some name 
in the kingdome of Norway, and that they that arrived 
there first in safetie should stay and expect the coming of 
the rest. " 47 On the same day on which this council was 
held, at about four o'clock in the afternoon, a storm of 
terrific violence separated the fleet. Willoughby 's account 
says, "And that night by violence of winde and thicke- 
nesse of mists, we were not able to keepe together within 
sight, and then about midnight we lost our pinnesse, 
which was a discomfort unto us. " 48 With dawn the fog 
cleared, and in the distance the crew of the Bona Speranza 
sighted a ship which on closer view proved to be the Con- 
fidentia; the Edward Bonaventure had disappeared. 48 
The two vessels continued in company to the northeast 
hoping to rejoin Chancellor's ship at Wardhouse as had 
been agreed upon a few days before. It seems from Wil- 

4*Hakluyt, II, 219. 
*5lMd., II, 220. 
46 I.e. Vardohuus. 
ulbid., II, 246. 
*s Hid., II, 220. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 11 

loughby's journal that they now completely lost their way. 
Soundings were taken and the conclusion reached "that 
the land lay not as the Globe made mention." 49 They 
sailed to the northeast, then to the southeast. On August 
14 land was sighted in latitude 72° but the water was so 
shallow that the boat sent out to investigate could not 
effect a landing ; 49 there ' ' was very much ice also, but 
there was no similitude of habitation." The fact of 
the case seems to be that they had somehow passed "Ward- 
house far to their right and they were aimlessly wander- 
ing along the desolate coasts of Russian Lapland. 

The rest of Willoughby's journal is a concise record of 
one of those tragic events with which the history of navi- 
gation abounds. It continues with almost daily entries up 
to the end of September. By that time the White Sea 
had been reached, though the voyagers seem to have had no 
knowledge whatever of where they were. On the 18th of 
September they entered into a haven which "runneth into 
the maine, about two leagues, and is in bredth halfe a 
league. ' ' 50 Here Willoughby and his companions deter- 
mined to spend the winter. And here they perished to a 
man. A will later found in the Speranza proves that Sir 
Hugh and most of the company were still alive in Jan- 
uary, 1554. 51 

The last entry in Willoughby's journal, written toward 
the close of September, 1553, is a testimony to the courage 
of the man and in its very simplicity pictures most vividly 
the environment in which he met his death. "Thus 
. . . seeing the yeare farre spent, & also very evill 
wether, as frost, snow, and haile, as though it had beene 
the deep of winter, we thought best to winter there. 
Wherefore we sent out three men Southsouthwest, to 

4»Hakluyt, II, 221. 
solUd., II, 223. 
6i Hid., II, 224. 



12 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

search if they could find people, who went three dayes 
journey, but could finde none: after that, we sent other 
three Westward four daies journey, which also returned 
without finding any people, Then sent we three men 
Southeast three dayes journey, who in like sort returned 
without finding of people, or any similitude of habita- 
tion." 52 

During 1554, after Chancellor had made his memorable 
visit to the Czar, Ivan the Terrible, the Speranza and the 
Confidentia were found by some Russian fishermen with 
all on board frozen to death. 53 The ships were turned 
over to Chancellor on his second trip to Russia and word 
of the tragic fate of the adventurers thus reached Eng- 
land. It seems to have occasioned a great deal of interest 
there and to have appealed strongly to the imagination of 
the time. Various embellishments, of more or less artis- 
tic merit, seem to have been added to the narrative. 
Giovanni Michiel, the Venetian Ambassador at the court 
of England, writing home to the Doge and Senate under 
date of November 4, 1555, speaks of the return of the sec- 
ond voyage in that year and describes the finding of the 
Speranza and the Confidentia "on the Muscovite coast, 
with the men on board all frozen; and the mariners now 
returned from the second voyage relate strange things 
about the mode in which they were frozen, having found 
some of them seated in the act of writing, pens still in 
hand and the paper before them; others at tables, plat- 
ter in hand and spoon in mouth; others opening a locker, 
and others in various postures, like statues, as if they had 
been adjusted and placed in those attitudes. They say 
that some dogs on board the ships displayed the same 
phenomena. They found the effects and merchandise all 

52 Hakluyt, II, 223. 
^Ibid., HI, 331. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 13 

intact in the hands of the natives, and brought them back 
hither with the vessels. ' ' 54 

We must now return to consider the progress of the 
voyage of Richard Chancellor in the Edward Bonaven- 
ture. In the storm that dispersed the fleet his vessel com- 
pletely lost sight of the other ships. Left alone he 
shaped his course toward Wardhouse in accordance with 
the agreement that had been made. 55 Here he waited a 
whole week, when, giving up hope of his companions hav- 
ing survived the tempest, he pursued the interrupted voy- 
age, sailing far to the east till " at the length it pleased 
God to bring them into a certain great Bay, which was of 
one hundreth miles or thereabout over, ' ' 56 — the White 
Sea. Here they entered and made a landing. From the 
natives it was soon learned that ' ' this Countrey was called 
Russia, or Muscovie, and that Ivan Vasiliwich ruled and 
governed farre and wide in those places." Chancellor 
explained that he and his men had been sent by King 
Edward in search of amity and commerce, "whereby they 
doubted not, but that great commoditie and profit would 
grow to the subjects of both kingdoms." 57 The "gov- 
ernour of that place" replied that he did not know what 
would be the wish of their ruler, but immediately des- 
patched a messenger to the Emperor announcing the ar- 
rival of the strangers. 58 A long delay following, Chan- 
cellor announced his intention of re-embarking and pro- 
ceeding further on his journey. 58 At this the Muscovites 
"fearing the departure in deede of our men who had such 
wares and commodities as they greatly desired" offered 
to conduct Chancellor to the Emperor at once. 

Ivan "the Terrible" was at this time in his city of 

54Cal S. P. (Venetian) 1555-1556, p. 240. 
ssHakluyt, II, 247. 

56 IUd., II, 248. 

57 IUd., II, 249. 

58 IUd., II, 250. 



14 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Moscow, fifteen hundred miles from the spot where the 
English had landed. The trip had to be made in 
sledges. 59 On the way they met the royal messengers with 
commands from Ivan that all haste should be made in 
bringing the strangers to his court. 60 Of the hardships 
of this long overland trip we know little save that " after 
much adoe and great paines taken in this long and wearie 
journey . . . Master Chanceler came at last to 
Mosco the chiefe citie of the kingdome, and the seate of 
the king." 60 

1553, the date of Chancellor's voyage, may be said to 
mark the most brilliant period of the reign of Ivan IV. 
He had just completed the conquest of Kazan in the 
southeast and in the following year was to gain posses- 
sion of Astrakhan, thus extending the limits of his do- 
main from the White Sea to the Caspian. Only on his 
western borders might his ultimate success be considered 
doubtful. The Teutonic knights in Livonia, the Swedes, 
Lithuanians, and Poles formed a solid wall between Rus- 
sia and the civilization of western Europe. So long as 
the arts of that civilization were denied to the Czar the 
subjugation of the powerful neighbors that shut him off 
from the Baltic would be an impossibility. Communica- 
tion by means of his distant Arctic coast suggested bril- 
liant possibilities both of trade and contact with the West. 
We need go no further than this to explain the cordial 
reception accorded to Chancellor and his companions at 
the Russian capital. 

Chancellor writing of Russia shortly after his return 
to England gives us a description of the rude splendor of 
Ivan's court. 61 After waiting at Moscow twelve days he 
was summoned to wait upon the Czar and present the let- 

59Hakluyt, II, 250. 
go Ibid., II, 251. 
6i Ibid., II, 224 ff. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 15 

ter from Edward VI. 62 An interpreter conducted him 
into an outer chamber "where sate one hundred or moe 
gentlemen, all in cloth of golde very sumptuous. ' ' 62 Prom 
here he was taken to the Council Chamber where he was 
presented to the Emperor in the presence of the assem- 
bled nobles : ' ' they sate round about the chamber on high, 
yet so that he himselfe sate much higher than any of his 
nobles in a chaire gilt, and in a long garment of beaten 
golde, with an emperial crowne upon his head, and a 
staffe of Cristall and golde in his right hand, and his 
other hand half e leaning on his chaire. " 63 The Czar 
received the letter and bidding Chancellor welcome in- 
quired of the king's health. Chancellor after respond- 
ing appropriately presented Ivan with a suitable gift and 
departed. 63 Two hours later he dined in state with the 
Czar at the golden palace, "but," he writes, "I saw no 
cause why it should be so called; for I have seene many 
f ayrer then it in all poynts. ' ' 63 There follows in Chan- 
cellor 's narration a full description of the banquet. 

Ivan formally accepted the suggestion of an alliance 
and the establishment of commercial relations between his 
country and England. His letter in reply to that of 
Edward VI was brought back to England by Chancellor 
in 1554. 6 * It is addressed to Edward, as to whose death 
in the interval both Ivan and Chancellor were of course 
in ignorance. The letter grants the request presented by 
Chancellor that English subjects may visit Russia and 
"frequent free Marts, with all sortes of marchandizes, and 
. . . to have wares for their returne. ' ' 65 The Eng- 
lish king is asked to send a representative with whom 
definite arrangements may be concluded for commercial 

62Hakluyt, II, 226. 
63 Ibid., II, 227. 
™Ibid., II, 271. 
65 Ibid., II, 272. 



16 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

privileges throughout the Czar's dominions. The letter 
announces further that the Emperor has given order "that 
wheresoever your faithful servant Hugh Willoughbie land 
or touch in our dominions, to be wel entertained, who as 
yet is not arrived, as your servant Richard can declare." 65 

Of Chancellor's return trip to England we have no de- 
tailed account. On his arrival Ivan's letter was pre- 
sented to Queen Mary. The change of rulers seems 
to have involved no change of policy so far as com- 
mercial relations were concerned. The highest officials in 
the government were interested in the project. The Com- 
pany applied for letters of incorporation. These were 
granted February 6, 1555, 66 from which date the Com- 
pany's corporate history begins. The charter of 1555 
grants to the Company the exclusive right to trade with 
any of the Czar's dominions, establishes the form of gov- 
ernment and organization of the Company, and appoints 
Sebastian Cabot to be Governor of the Company during 
the remainder of his life. 

On May 1, 1555, the Company adopted articles for the 
second voyage. 67 This time Russia was the definite des- 
tination. Two vessels, the Edward Bonaventure and the 
Philip and Mary, were laden with merchandise and sent 
out under the charge of Richard Chancellor. 68 Two 
agents, George Killingworth and Richard Gray, were sent 
with the ships to reside in Russia and take charge of the 
Company's interests in that country. 69 Detailed instruc- 
tions were given them as to the limits of their authority 
and the conduct of the affairs of the Company. On 

ee Hakluyt, II, 316. The closing words of the charter, "Apud West- 
monasterium, 6 die Feb. Annis regnorum nostrorum, primo & 
secundo," fix the date as 1555. February, 1555, falls in the first 
regnal year of Philip as King of England and in the second regnal 
year of Queen Mary. 

eribid., II, 281. 

ealbid., II, 282. 

69/6td.,IL281. 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 17 

Chancellor's second arrival in Russia Ivan repeated his 
gracious welcome. 70 In response to a letter from Philip 
and Mary 71 he granted liberal trading privileges to the 
merchants, 72 privileges which from the point of view of 
the Company must be considered as supplementing the 
charter privileges granted earlier in the year by the Eng- 
lish government. 

On July 20, 1556, Chancellor departed for England, 
the Edward Bonaventure and the Philip and Mary being 
accompanied on this return voyage by the Bona Speranza 
and the Confidential 3 which had been found on the coast 
of Lapland and turned over to the English by the Czar. 
The Edward carried a cargo "in waxe, trane oyle, tallow, 
furres, felts, yarne and such like, to the summe of 20000. 
(sic) li. sterling." 73 More significant still, it bore the first 
Russian ambassador to the court of England, Osep 
Napea, 74 "governor of the town of Vologda." The storms 
of the Arctic, destined to play so large a part in the his- 
tory of the Company, soon separated the vessels of the 
fleet. The Bona Speranza and the Confidentia, still pur- 
sued by their former ill fortune, perished on the coast of 
Norway. 75 The Philip and Mary after long delays finally 
reached London in April of the next year. 75 The Edward 
with its rich cargo, after four months' buffeting, finally 
reached the coast of Scotland in November, 1556. 76 Here 
"by outrageous tempests, and extreme stormes, the said 
ship . . . was driven upon the rockes on shore, where 
she brake and split in pieces." 76 Chancellor, attempting 
to save the life of the ambassador, lost his own life. 

70Hakluyt, II, 292. 
7i Ibid., II, 278. 

72 IUd., II, 297 ff. 

73 Ibid., II, 351. 
ulbid., II, 350. 

75 "The said Confidentia was seene to perish on a Rocke," Ibid., 
II, 351. The Bona Speranza was never heard of again. 
™ibid., II, 352. 






18 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Osep Napea was one of the few persons who survived 
the disaster. The cargo and the valuable presents sent 
by Ivan to Philip and Mary were either lost in the sea or 
seized by the rude natives of that region. 77 In spite of 
the cooperation of the Scotch government 78 very little of 
this booty was ever recovered: — "divers small parcels of 
waxe, and other small trifling things of no value, were by 
the poorer sort of the Scottes brought to the commission- 
ers, but the Jewels, rich apparell, presents, gold, silver, 
costly furres, and such like, were conveyed away, con- 
cealed and utterly embezelled. " 78 

The Company received news of the catastrophe early 
in December, 1556. 79 They at once secured letters from 
the Queen to the Scotch government requesting the proper 
entertainment of the ambassador and the restitution of 
the goods that had been plundered. 79 They further sent 
"two Gentlemen of good learning, gravitie and estima- 
tion" 80 to bring the Russian ambassador to London. 
These agents arrived in Scotland on December 23, but the 
delays attendant on the attempt to secure the stolen and 
already widely distributed cargo prevented their depar- 
ture from that country until the following February. 81 
On February 18, 1557, they reached Berwick where the 
ambassador was honorably entertained by the Lord 
Warden of the East Marches. 82 From Berwick he was 
conducted toward London, 83 finally arriving in the neigh- 

77 Hakluyt, II, 352. 
™ibid., II, 353. 
79 Ibid., II, 352. 
so Ibid., II, 353. 
silbid., 354. 

82 Ibid. Cf. letters of the Privy Council to the Warden, Dec. 1, 
1556, and Feb. 24, 1557. A P. C. 1556-1558 pp. 27 and 56. 

83 The ambassador's route from Berwick to London is indi- 
cated by the instructions sent by the Privy Council to the sheriffs 
of Nottingham, Lincoln, Northampton, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Es- 
sex and Hertford to conduct the Russian Ambassador safely to the 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 19 

borhood of that city on February 27. Twelve miles from 
London Napea was received by " fourscore merchants with 
chaines of gold and goodly apparell. ' ' 84 By these he was 
conducted to a "marehants house foure miles from Lon- 
don." Next day he was accompanied to the city by one 
hundred and forty members of the Company. 85 He was 
formally welcomed by Viscount Montague who had been 
sent by the Queen to meet him. 85 A procession of three 
hundred "knights, esquiers, gentlemen and yoemen" ac- 
companied him toward Smithfield Bars, "the first limits 
of the liberties of the Citie of London." Here he was 
received by the Lord Mayor "with all the Aldermen in 
their Skarlet . . . and so riding through the citie of 
London in the middle, between the Lord Maior and Vis- 
count Montague, a great number of merchants and notable 
personages riding before, and a large troupe of servants 
and apprentices following, was conducted through the Citie 
of London (with great admiration and plausibilitie of the 
people running plentifully on all sides, and replenishing 
all streets in such sort as no man without difficultie might 
passe) into his lodging situate in Fant church 86 streete, 
where were provided for him two chambers richly hanged 
and decked . . ." On his entrance into his apart- 
ments he was presented with a splendid gift from the 
Queen. 87 

The formal reception of the ambassador by the court 
did not take place immediately owing to the absence of 
Philip in Flanders. Meanwhile the Company attended to 
his wants. "Daily divers Aldermen and the gravest per- 
sonages of the said companie did visite him, providing all 

next county and see him well attended to "for his reasonable money." 
A. P. C. 1556-1558, pp. 51-52. 

84 Hakluyt, II, 354 ff. "A discourse of the . . . receiving 
. . . of the first Ambassador from . . . Russia. 

ss Ibid., II, 355. 

86 I.e. Fenchurch Street. 

87 Hakluyt, II, 356. 



20 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

kind of victuals for his table and his servants, with al 
sorts of Officers to attend upon him in good sort and con- 
dition, as to such an ambassadour of honour doeth and 
ought to appertains " 88 In fact during his entire stay 
in England the Company assumed the responsibility of 
his entertainment. They invited him "to the Maior, and 
divers worshipfull mens houses, feasting and banquetting 
him right friendlie, shewing unto him the most notable 
and commendable sights of London, as the kings palace 
and house, the Churches of Westminster and Powles, the 
Tower and Guild hall of London, and such like memorable 
spectacles. ' ' 89 Finally, on April 29, shortly before his 
departure, the merchants of the Company assembled in 
the ambassador's honor at Drapers' Hall and there "ex- 
hibited and gave unto ye said Ambassador, a notable sup- 
per garnished with musicke, Enterludes and bankets. ' ' 89 

Philip arrived in England from Flanders on March 21, 
and four days later Napea was formally received by the 
English King and Queen at their court at Whitehall in 
Westminster. 90 He presented his letter from Ivan, "made 
his oration," and having been graciously dismissed re- 
turned by water to his lodging. 90 The letter does not 
seem to have been preserved, but in the light of the reply 
sent by Philip and Mary 91 and the contemporary com- 
ments of the Venetian ambassador 92 we can infer that a 
treaty of alliance had been proposed. 

Two days later the Russian ambassador was visited by 
the bishop of Ely and Sir William Knight who took the 
negotiations in charge. 93 On April 23 he took formal 

ssHakluyt, II, 356. 
89 Ibid., II, 358. 
so Hid., II, 356. 

si Tolstoy, Forty Years' Relation between England and Russia, p. 
13. 
»2 Cal. S. P. (Venetian) 1556-1557, p. 1005. 
93 Hakluyt, II, 357, 



RUSSIAN RELATIONS 21 

leave of their majesties, receiving a written reply to 
Ivan's proposition. Merchants of both countries were 
hereafter to enjoy equal privileges of free trade and gov- 
ernmental protection. The Czar's offer of friendship was 
accepted. 94 

On May 3 the ambassador left London, being accom- 
panied to Gravesend by "divers Aldermen and merchants, 
who in good gard set him aboord the noble shippe, the 
Primrose Admiral to the Fleete, where leave was taken on 
both sides and parts, after many imbracements and divers 
f arewels not without expressing of tears. ' ' 95 

With the close of this embassy diplomatic relations be- 
tween England and Russia may be considered to have been 
firmly established. Thenceforth ambassadors went back 
and forth between the two countries as special occasion 
arose. Commercially also the bonds between the two na- 
tions may be said to have become firmly established by 
1557, the year of Napea's departure. A commercial un- 
derstanding had been reached and a scheme of mutual 
benefits established. From that time forward every spring 
the Company sent out its cargoes to the White Sea, bring- 
ing in return the wares of distant Russia. 

e^Hakluyt, II, 357; Tolstoy, p. 13. 
»5 Hakluyt, II, 358. 



CHAPTER II 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Our knowledge of the organization of the Muscovy Com- 
pany, except for the general provisions contained in its 
charter, must be based upon indirect evidence in contem- 
porary documents. The official records of the Company, 
could they be found, would give us a much closer view of 
the subject than is now possible. That records were kept 
there can be no doubt. All efforts to locate them, how- 
ever, have up to the present time proved futile, and it: has 
been surmised with much Semblance of probability, /that 
the official documents containing the accounts and 1 pro- 
ceedings of the Company have been destroyed. Certain 
it is that Muscovy House, the official home of the Company 
in London and the probable repository of its records, was 
burned in the Great Fire of 1666. An indenture bearing 
date of March 30, 1670, makes distinct reference to "that 
toft peece or parcell of ground whereon that Capitall 
mesuage formerly called the Muscovie House . . . 
stood . . . before the late dreadf ull fire in London. ' ' x 
Whether or not the Great Fire accounts for the present 
lack of direct source material, the fact remains that for 
the present at least the student of the history of the Mus- 
covy Company in the sixteenth century has no group of 
material corresponding in any way to the Court Books 
of the East India Company or the Acts and Ordinances of 
the Eastland Company. 

Fortunately the Charter of 1555 contains in outline the 

general plan of organization. We have definite knowledge 

iHusting Roll, 341 (29). 

22 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 23 

that organization of some sort had been effected at the 
very beginning of the movement. "We have seen that in 
1553 the Company had a governor and a governing board 
definitely referred to as the Consuls and Assistants. 2 It 
is highly probable that the letters of incorporation, so far 
as this phase of their content is concerned, merely con- 
firmed the plan of organization under which the Company 
had been already working for more than two years. The 
statute of 1566, confirming and enlarging the Company's 
privileges, specifies no change in this respect. "We are 
probably justified in concluding that the plan of organi- 
zation outlined in the first chapter represents the form 
under which the Company existed from its very inception 
and throughout the period we are considering. An analy- 
sis of some of the provisions of the first charter, there- 
fore, and a consideration of the incidental references to 
be found in contemporary letters and accounts, furnish 
us with as adequate a comprehension of the Company's 
organization as, in the absence of the official records, it is 
possible to secure. 

In the first charter the new trading company was or- 
ganized under the name of "Marchants adventurers of 
England, for the discovery of lands, territories, lies, Do- 
minions, and Seigniories unknowen, and not before that 
late adventure or enterprise by sea or navigation, com- 
monly frequented. ' ' 3 This had evidently been the name 
adopted at the time of the Company's first formation. 4 
This cumbrous title the Company bore till the issue of the 
second charter in 1566. That document mentions the ex- 
treme length of this title as one of the reasons for issuing 
the new charter! — " . . . And for that the name by 

2 Supra, p. 4. 

s Hakluyt, II, 305. Not to be confused with the Society of Mer- 
chants Adventurers of England. The similarity of official title has 
led to some confusion in the past. 

4 Cf. the title of Cabot's instructions in 1553. Ibid., II, 195. 



24 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

which the saide felowship is incorporated by the letters 
patents aforesaid, is long, & consist eth of very many 
words: Therefore be it enacted, etc." 5 

Accordingly the new charter conferred a new name upon 
the Company. ''The said felowship, company, society and 
corporation made or created by the said letters patents, 
shal at al time & times from henceforth be incorporated, 
named and called onely by the name of the fellowship of 
English merchants, for discovery of new trades. ' ' 6 The 
lack of contemporary trading companies is clearly seen in 
the vague character of this title, specifying as it does noth- 
ing as to the nature of the trade or the sphere of the 
Company's activities. The ''company for the discovery of 
new trades" remained its official name throughout the 
sixteenth century and beyond. 

Usage, however, soon came to apply a more distinctive 
appellation. As early as 1555 the Venetian ambassador, 
Giovanni Michiel, writing home to the Doge and Senate 
refers to "this new Muscovite navigation [company]." 7 
In 1558 Queen Mary writes to Sigismund, King of Poland, 
of "the Society of Merchants of London who trade with 
Russia. ' ' 8 Again in 1566 we find them spoken of as the 
' ' company of Merchant Adventurers into Russia. " 9 In 
1567 Robert Glover wrote to the "company of Muscovy 
merchants. ' ' 10 The next year we find them again referred 
to merely as the ' ' Muscovy Merchants. " X1 A document 
dated May 19, 1568, and endorsed by Cecil is headed 
' ' Articles between the Queen and the Muscovy Company. ' ' 

s Hakluyt, III, 86. 
s Ibid., Ill, 87. 

7Cal. S. P. (Venetian) 1555-1556 p. 143. 

s Hist. MSS. Com. 13th Report, app. part II, p. 10 (Rutland 
MSS.). 

9Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580 p. 280. 
local. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 309. 
ii Ibid., p. 462 (2). 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 25 

This is the form in which we find the name of the Com- 
pany with extreme frequency thenceforward. This nar- 
rowing of the title corresponds with the growth of the 
trade with Russia and the gradual confining of the mer- 
chants' efforts to the exploitation of that country. Par- 
ticularly in the last quarter of the sixteenth century when 
trading companies were multiplying did it become neces- 
sary to use some distinguishing name. Hence the in- 
creasing use of the terms Muscovy Company and Russia 
Company. 

The first charter clearly specifies what officers the Com- 
pany shall have and gives some intimation of their mode 
of election. The officials designated consist of a Gov- 
ernor or Governors (either one or two at the option of 
the Company ), four Consuls, and twenty-four Assist- 
ants. 12 In general plan this is not unlike the organiza- 
tion of the old company of the Merchant Adventurers, 
the chief difference being that that body had but one Gov- 
ernor and made no provisions for Consuls. 13 The num- 
ber of Assistants was the same in both companies, a fea- 
ture of their organization which was also typical of the 
later Eastland 14 and East India 15 Companies. 

The Governors. — The charter provides in the first place 
that the Company shall "yeerely name, elect and choose 
one Governour or two. ' ' 16 There is no intimation of any 
intended superiority of one Governor over the other or 
any hint that the two officials were to stand in the rela- 
tion of chief and deputy. In fact, in the later working 

12 Hakluyt, II, 306. 

13 Lingelbach, The Internal Organization of the Merchant Adven- 
turers of England, p. 29. 

1 4 Sellers, Acts and Ordinances of the Eastland Company, p. xiii. 
The portion of the charter cited in Miss Sellers' work omits the 
provision referring to the number of Assistants. 

is Charter of the East India Company, in Prothero, Statutes and 
Constitutional Documents 1558-1625, p. 449. 
le Hakluyt, II, 306. 



26 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

out of the system there is every indication of an equality 
in rank: where there are two Governors their names are 
coupled without any indication of a difference in dignity. 
We are justified, moreover, in assuming that if any other 
condition but that of equality had been intended some 
statement to that effect would be found in the charter. 
The provision for a dual governorship seems to have been 
peculiar to the Muscovy Company. No reason for the 
innovation is suggested, though the analogy to the Lon- 
don shrievalty presents itself, not as an explanation, but 
as an interesting parallel. The title "Governor" men- 
tioned in the charter seems to have been fairly consist- 
ently adhered to. The term "lieutenant" is used, how- 
ever, in at least one place with evident reference to this 
official. 17 The expression "Master of the Muscovy House" 
seems also to have been used with this signification. 18 
Whether "cheyff marchand of Muskovea," used by 
Machyn 19 in speaking of Sir George Barnes on the occa- 
sion of his death in 1558, is still another variation of the 
title is difficult to say in the absence of further informa- 
tion as to the official position held by Barnes in that year. 
Officially, however, there is very little variation from the 
regular title. 

Sebastian Cabot, the Charter of 1555 provides, "in con- 
sideration that ... he hath bin the chiefest setter 
forth of this journey or voyage," is to be the first Gov- 
ernor. 20 This position he is to enjoy "during his naturall 
life, without amoving or dismissing from the same 
roome. ' ' 20 During his life, however, the Company may 
at their yearly election choose an additional Governor if 
they so desire. 21 Cabot died in 1557. There is no inti- 

17 Hakluyt, II, 375. 

isCal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 85. 

is Machyn's Diary, p. 166. 

20 Hakluyt, II, 305. 

2i Ibid., II, 306. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 27 

mation in the few contemporary references relating to the 
history of the Company in the period of less than three 
years between its incorporation and the death of its first 
Governor that any one was elected to share Cabot's office. 
The evidence on this point, however, is in large measure 
negative. It seems highly improbable in view of the 
unique position occupied by Sebastian Cabot toward the 
close of his life that the Company would have chosen any 
other member to share the governorship with him. 

After Cabot's death the dual governorship seems to 
have been frequently though probably not invariably in 
use. It has not been possible to compile any complete 
list of the successive occupants of this position. The fol- 
lowing references, however, are among those that seem 
to indicate the prevalence of a dual governorship. A 
letter from the Company to its agents written in 1560 
mentions the " Governours." 22 The instructions to An- 
thony Jenkinson under date of May 8, 1561, are signed 
by William Gerrard and Thomas Lodge, "Governors." 23 
Under date of November 20, 1564, we find a petition 
of the "Governors, Consuls, etc.," of the Company to the 
Privy Council. 24 Other references leave no doubt of the 
fact of the existence of two Governors in that year. 25 In 
1567 we find Sir William Gerrard and Rowland Hawarde 
jointly filling the office. 26 Again in the following year 
a letter is addressed to the "Governors of the Company of 
Russia Merchants. " 27 In 1575 the Queen refers to the 
official heads of the Company, using the expression "gov- 
ernors of the merchants." 28 Under date of May 20, 1580, 

22 Hakluyt, II, 410. 

23lUd., II, 14. 

2*Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 4. 

25Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 246 (2). 

26 Ibid., p. 287. 

27Cal. Clarendon MSS. (Bodl.) Addenda, No. 303. 

28Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1575-1577, p. 52. 



28 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

we find a commission granted by Sir Rowland Hawarde 
and George Barne, "Governors of the Company of Eng- 
lish merchants for Discovery of New Trades. ' ' 29 In 1592 
Sir George Barne and Sir John Harte are definitely re- 
ferred to as "governors of the Russia and Muscovy Com- 
pany." 30 

That there were times, however, when the Company ex- 
ercised its option of electing a single official to act as 
Governor is indicated by a number of scattered refer- 
ences hardly to be explained on any other supposition. 
In the following citations the use of the singular number 
can scarcely be attributed to carelessness on the part of 
the various writers. Arthur Edwards in a letter of 1566 
says: "I have written the prices of wares in my letter 
to the governour both for spices and some drugs which I 
do know. ' ' 31 The expression ' ' Sir William Gerrard 
and the Company of merchants trading to Russia " in a 
document of 1576 32 would hardly have been used if at 
that time the Company had had two Governors. Again 
under date of January 19, 1583, we find a reference to 
"Mr. Harvie, the governor, and others of the Russia com- 
pany." 33 Similarly in 1591 reference is made to "Sir 
Jno. Hart, governor, and others of the Company of Mer- 
chants trading to Russia. " 34 A letter to Lady Walsing- 
ham written in 1583 makes mention of the Governor of the 
Muscovy Company. 35 It would seem that we are justi- 
fied in concluding that while we have a number of spe- 
cific references to prove the existence of two Governors 
for the Company there are intimations that this was not 
an invariable practice. 

29Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 656. 

aoCal. S. P. (Domestic) 1591-1594, p. 170. 
si Hakluyt, III, 51. 

32Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 523. 

33Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 91. 

34Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1591-1594, p. 30. 

35Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 138. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 29 

Unfortunately we have no account of any election of 
the Company's Governors, so that we have no definite 
knowledge of the exact form of procedure. It probably 
did not vary in any important respect from the mode 
of election employed in other incorporated bodies of the 
time. On this point the charter provides, "And further- 
more, we graunt unto the same fellowship . . . that 
they . . . shall, and may freely and lawfully in 
places convenient and honest, assemble themselves to- 
gether, or so many of them as will or can assemble to- 
gether, as well within our citie of London, or elsewhere, 
as it shall please them, in such sort and maner, as other 
worshipfull corporations of our saide citie have used to 
assemble, and there yeerly name, elect and choose one 
Governour or two, of themselves, and their liberties, and 
also . . . the four Consuls and the twenty-four As- 
sistants. " 36 In the event of the death of a Governor 
during his term of office the Company is to meet and elect 
a successor "in the place and steade of such as so shall 
happen to die, to serve out the same yeere. " 36 It is in- 
teresting to notice that seldom if ever were men appointed 
to this office for a long series of consecutive terms. 

The Governors of the Muscovy Company were fre- 
quently men of considerable standing in the municipal 
life of their time. Names of Mayors and Aldermen are 
of frequent occurrence, clearly pointing to the dominance 
of city influence in the administration of the Company. 
Those members who held influential positions in the 
national government seem to have contented themselves 
for the most part with simple membership. Among 
the Mayors and Sheriffs who held high office in the Com- 
pany may be mentioned William Chester, who was Sheriff 
in 1554 87 and Mayor in 1560 ; 38 Thomas Lodge, who was 

seHakluyt, II, 306. 

87 Stow, Survey of London (edition of 1908), II, 183. 

88 Ibid., II, 134, 



30 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Sheriff in 1559 37 and Mayor in 1562, 40 Rowland Hawarde, 
who was Sheriff in 1563 40 and Mayor in 1570 40 and again 
in 1590 ; 39 George Barne, who was Sheriff in 1576 40 and 
Mayor in 1586 ; 39 and John Harte, who was Sheriff in 
1578 39 and Mayor in 1589. 39 

The Consuls and Assistants. — The Charter of 1555 makes 
provision for twenty-eight other officials to assist the Gov- 
ernor or Governors. Four of these were to be known as 
Consuls, and the remaining twenty-four as Assistants. 41 
They were to be elected by the Company at the same meet- 
ing at which the Governors were chosen, and like them 
were to hold office for one year. 41 This is clearly the mean- 
ing of the rather awkwardly worded provision : * ' . . . 
also at the election of such said Governour or governours 
. . . to choose, name and appoint eight and twenty of 
the most sad, discreete, and honest persons of the saide 
fellowship, and communalty of Marchant adventurers, 
. . . and 4. of the most expert and skilfull persons 
of the same 28. to be named and called Consuls, and 24. 
of the residue, to be named and called Assistants to the 
saide Governour or governours, and Consuls for the time 
being, which shal remain and stand in their authorities 
for one whole yeere then next following. ' ' 41 The differ- 
ence in function between the two sorts of officials, i.e., 
Consuls and Assistants, is difficult to ascertain owing to 
the absence of definite references in documents that have 
come down to us. The charter provision just cited clearly 
implies that Consuls occupy a higher rank than Assistants ; 
out of the twenty-eight first chosen "the most expert and 
skilfull" were selected to be Consuls. We have, however, 
no explicit reference to the relative amount of authority 
connected with the two offices. 

39 Stow, Survey of London, II, 185. 

40 ibid., II, 184. 

*iHakluyt, II, 306. .. : 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 31 

The Governors, Consuls and Assistants constituted a 
sort of governing board with extensive powers. When 
there was one Governor this board consisted of twenty- 
nine members ; when there were two Governors it contained 
thirty. This group of men were given by the charter full 
authority to govern the Company, — "to execute and doe 
full and speedie justice to them, and every of them, in 
all their causes, differences, variances, controversies, quar- 
rels, and complaints, within any our realms, dominions and 
jurisdictions onely moved and to be moved, touching their 
marchandise, traffikes, and occupiers aforesaid, or the good 
order or rule of them or any of them. " 42 A more explicit 
statement of the authority of this body is found later in 
the same document. They are empowered to make such 
statutes for the government of the Company as they shall 
think proper, and to revoke statutes which in their judg- 
ment are unnecessary or hurtful or which may have become 
obsolete. 48 They are definitely authorized, moreover, to pun- 
ish by means of fines, forfeitures, and imprisonments any 
member who may be found " contrarious, rebellious or dis- 
obedient" to the officials of the Company or to any stat- 
utes that have been passed. 44 They are authorized to 
"punish every such offendor or offendors, as the quality 
of the offence requireth, according to their good discre- 
tions. ' ' 45 That this power was actually used is evidenced 
by a petition of a certain Thomas Wynington to Sir Fran- 
cis Walsingham in which he complains that having come 
from Moscow to London to make complaint of one Nor- 
then, a merchant, he had been imprisoned at the instance 
of the Master (sic) and Governors of the Company of 
Moscovia. 46 

42Hakluyt, II, 308. 

43 Ibid., II, 309. 

*±IMd., II, 310. 

islUd., II, 311. 

±6Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 695. 



32 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

In the Governors, Consuls and Assistants, then, the 
charter vested full legislative, judicial, and administrative 
power. The membership itself had no authority of its own 
save that of annually electing its governing board. The 
only explicit limitation on the power of this board was 
in its relations to the government which gave it being and 
to the municipality in whose geographical limits it found 
itself, namely the English government and the city of 
London. The charter provides that the Company's stat- 
utes may not be in disagreement with the "prerogative, 
lawes, statutes and customes" of the realm, nor contrary 
to any treaty in effect between the English government 
and any foreign power. 47 Nor may they conflict with the 
authority of the "corporation of the Maior, communalties 
and Citizens" of the city of London. 47 In the third place 
they may not infringe on the privileges of any other cor- 
poration. 47 Finally, to the Governors, Consuls and As- 
sistants was delegated the duty of admitting to member- 
ship in the Company "such and as many persons, as to 
them shal bee thought good, meete, convenient and neces- 
sarie. ' ' 48 This provision of the charter, arbitrary as it 
seems, is clearly consistent with the other despotic powers 
just outlined. No qualifications for admission are men- 
tioned in the charter. The Company is self perpetuating, 
but only through the action of its governing board. 

Besides the annual meetings at which the election of 
officers took place no other regular meetings are provided 
for in the charter. The extensive powers delegated to the 
officials would suggest that frequent meetings of the whole 
membership would have been superfluous. That the an- 
nual meetings were not devoted exclusively to the busi- 
ness of election, however, is evidenced by a record of in- 
structions given in 1555 to the Company's first agents by 

47Hakluyt, II, 311. 
MIMd., II, 310. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 33 

"the Governor Consuls, Assistants and whole company as- 
sembled this day in open court. ' ' 49 Similarly in 1580 ar- 
ticles of instruction were delivered to Arthur Pet and 
Charles Jaekman "at the court holden at Muscovy House, 
17th May 1580. " 50 

Of the times of meeting of the governing board we have 
no definite knowledge. The charter provides that at meet- 
ings of this body fifteen votes shall be necessary to carry 
any measure. 51 This would constitute a majority if there 
was one Governor, half of the board if there were two. 
It is further provided that no measure can be passed un- 
less there be present at the meeting one Governor and two 
Consuls, or, in the absence of a Governor, three Consuls. 51 
This plan in spite of its apparent complexity must have 
been effective; a majority vote was required to carry a 
measure and no motion could be carried in the absence 
of a majority of the higher officials. 

The regular place of meeting for the Company was 
known as Muscovy House. During the earlier years of 
the Company's existence it was located in Seething Lane. 
It was here that the Eussian emissaries, Twerdico and 
Pogorella, were entertained during their visit of 1567- 
1568. A letter from Henry Lane to Hakluyt describes this 
visit and makes definite reference to the Company's house 
1 ' then in Seething Lane, " 52 a form of expression which 
would seem to indicate that at the date of writing the Com- 
pany's headquarters were no longer located in that street. 
There seems to be no way of ascertaining the time of re- 
moval, though the later situation can be determined with 
a tolerable degree of precision by a reference in an inden- 
ture bearing a much later date. This document fixes the 
location "in the parish of St. Antholin London in or 

49 Hakluyt, II, 281. 

BoCal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 61. 

si Hakluyt, II, 307. 

*2lMd., Ill, 99. 



34 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

neare a certayne streete since the . . . late dreadfull 
fire in London called & knowne by the name of Dukes 
street." 53 

No other regular officers besides those already mentioned 
are provided for in the charter. The Company is empow- 
ered to employ "Sergeants" for the purpose of collecting 
fines and enforcing penalties inflicted by the governing 
body. 54 These persons, however, were servants in the em- 
ploy of the Company, not officials in the real sense of the 
term. The same may be said of the "Factors" to whom 
the charter also makes reference. 55 As a matter of fact 
the administration of the Company's affairs, particularly 

ss Husting Roll 341, 29. "This Indenture made the thirtieth day 
of March in the two and twentieth yeare of our soveraigne Lord 
Charles the Second by the Grace of God of England, Scotland, ffrance 
and Ireland, being defender of the faith. And in the yeare of our 
Lord God 1670. Between John Seed sonne and heire of John Seed 
late cittizen and haberdasher of London deceased and Elizabeth 
his wife on the one parte and William Cooke of Cliffords Inn London 
gents of the other part Witnesseth that the said John Seed & Eliza- 
beth his wife for and in consideration of the sume of eleaven hundred 
and fifty pounds of lawfull money of England to him the said John 
Seed and before the ensealing & delivery of theis presents by the 
said William Cooke paid and secured to be paid the receipt and 
security whereof the said John Seed & Elizabeth his wife doe sev- 
erally and respectively hereby acknowledge have and either of them 
hath granted bargained sold aliened enefeoffed released and con- 
firmed and by theis presents doe & either of them doth absolutely 
grant bargaine sell alien enfeoffe release and confirme unto the 
said William Cooke his heires and assignes for ever in his actuall 
possession now being by virtue of an Indenture of Lease beareing 
date the day before the date of theis presents from the said John 
Seed for one yeare and of the statute for transferring uses into 
possession all that toft peece or parcell of ground whereon that 
Capitall mesuage formerly called the Muscovie House with the ap- 
purtenaces formerly stood before the late dreadfull fire in London 
converted into severall tenements or houses scituate lying and being 
in the parish of St. Antholin London in or neare a certayne streete 
since the said late dreadfull fire in London called & knowne by the 
name of Dukes streete, and also all that toft peece . . ." 

54Hakluyt, II, 312. 

55 Ibid., II, 314. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 35 

in Russia, necessitated the organization of a whole system 
of employees with various functions and powers. These 
require some discussion in this place. 

As early as 1555 the Company sent Richard Gray and 
William Killingworth to take charge of its interests in 
Russia. These men were commissioned "jointly and sev- 
erally to be Agents, Factors, and Atturneis general and 
speciall, for the whole body of this companie. ' ' 56 They 
were authorized to do all the buying and selling for the 
Company in Russia and to supervise the work of all the 
lesser employees. 57 They were also to keep careful ac- 
counts of the Company's dealings. 58 The privileges 
granted to the Company by the Russian government in 
1555 specifically grant to its agents the right of govern- 
ing all Englishmen in Russia : ' ' Item, we give and graunt 
unto the saide Marchants and their successours, that such 
person as is, or shalbe commended unto us, our heires or 
successors by the Governour, Consuls and assistants of 
the said fellowship resient within the citie of London 
within the realme of England, to be their chiefe Factor 
within this our empire and dominions, may and shal have 
ful power and authoritie to governe and rule all English- 
men that have had, or shall have accesse, or rep aire in 
or to this said Empire and jurisdictions, or any part 
thereof." 59 

The Company's commercial affairs in England were evi- 
dently in the charge of a similar agent. The presence of 
the regular officials in London rendered unnecessary the 
delegation to this officer of any such plenary powers as 
had of necessity to be exercised by their representative 
in Russia. In 1575 Michael Lok held the position of 
' * Agent in London for the Moscovie company. ' ' 60 

eeHakluyt, II, 281. 

57 Ibid., II, 283. 

ss Hid., II, 284. 

59 Ibid., II, 300. eo Ibid., Ill, 197. 



36 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

The privileges granted by Ivan in 1555 definitely au- 
thorized the Company to "name, choose and assigne brok- 
ers, shippers, packers, weighers, measurers, wagoners, and 
all other meet and necessary laborers for to serve them 
in their feat of merchandises.'' 61 In 1557 we find evi- 
dences of a fast increasing body of workmen of various 
sorts in the Company's employ. The raw hemp sent from 
Russia to England having involved heavy charges of trans- 
portation, the Company decided to have it made into rope 
before importing it. For this purpose they sent to the 
agents in Russia seven rope-makers. The agents are di- 
rected to assign them a ''principal overseer . . . and 
also to furnish them . . . with labourers, workemen 
and stuffe." 62 At the same time a skinner was sent "to 
viewe and see such furres as you shall cheap e or buy." 63 
One Leonard Brian was also appointed to attend to the 
cutting of certain stores of yew said to have been found 
in Russia. 64 Two coopers sent at the same time were "to 
make in a readinesse all such caske as shalbe needful for 
traine oyle, tallowe, or any thing else. ' ' 65 Ten young 
men " that be bound Prentises to the Companie' , were 
sent to be employed in whatever capacity the agents might 
think best, "some to keepe accompts, some to buy and sell 
by your order and commission, and some to send abroad 
into the notable Cities of the Countrey for understanding 
and knowledge. ' ' 66 

Election to membership, as has been mentioned, seems 
to have been entirely in the hands of the governing board. 
Whether confirmation on the part of the Company was 
necessary we do not know. An oath was administered to 

eiHakluyt, II, 300. 
62 /&id., II, 381. 
63 Hid., II, 382. 
"Ibid., II, 387. 

65 ibid. 

66 Hid., II, 383. 



OKGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 37 

all persons on admission to membership. 07 The member- 
ship in 1555 included some two hundred names, the list 
of which in the State Papers presents several points of 
interest. 68 The grouping is as follows: — There is first a 
list of twenty-seven names which evidently represent the 
interest of the Court. These include the Lord Treasurer, 
the Lord High Admiral, the Lord Chamberlain, the Con- 
troller, the Vice- Chamberlain, and the Master of the Horse. 
In this same group we find the name of Sir William Cecil, 
a charter member and for half a century a powerful rep- 
resentative of the Company's interests. The next group 
contains the names of thirteen Aldermen, among them the 
name of a woman, Mrs. Margarett Kyrtom. Next follows 
a group designated as "Esquiers"; these are headed by 
the name of "Sebastian Caboto" and include several names 
later to be of significance in the Company's affairs. The 
eleven "Esquiers" are followed by a list of eight "gen- 
tlemen." The rest of the document consists of the names 
of the other members of the Company alphabetically ar- 
ranged, oddly enough, according to the first letter of their 
first names. Two more women's names appear in the list. 
No such complete list of members is available for any 
other year, so that only through indirect references can 
we secure any information on the subject of changes in 
the personnel of the Company. It is of interest to learn 
that at one time Sir Francis Walsingham was a member, 69 
also that Humphrey Gilbert in a letter to the Queen in 
1567 laid claim to membership in the Company "for dis- 
covery of New Trades. ' ' 70 

Any consideration of the organization of the Muscovy 
Company necessarily involves some discussion of the way 

erCal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 432. 

«sMS. in the State Papers (Domestic) Addenda. Vol. VII, No. 
39. 

69 Hakluyt, II, 109. 

70Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 6. 



38 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

in which it carried on its trading activities. Was it a 
Regulated Company or a Joint Stock? We must be on 
our guard, of course, against trying to make Elizabethan 
conditions fit modern terms. In the realm of commerce, 
as well as in government and religion, the Tudor period 
was largely a time of transition. If, therefore, in our 
discussion we employ terms that have acquired in modern 
times a specific modern connotation it will be necessary 
precisely to define those terms. In our definition we will 
follow the lead of the best secondary writers on the sub- 
ject. By a Regulated Trading Company is meant a group 
of persons incorporated by charter, enjoying the monop- 
oly of a certain trade as individuals. 71 None but members 
of the company may legally engage in the trade, but these 
members do so as individual merchants each with his sep- 
arate capital. Voluntary and temporary combinations 
will, of course, occur with more or less frequency. A 
Joint Stock Company, on the other hand, engages in trade 
collectively, each member owning a share of the joint stock 
and receiving a proportionate share of the profits. Sec- 
ondary writers, with singular uniformity, have taken the 
ground that the Muscovy Company belonged to the class 
of Regulated Companies, 72 a position which an examination 
of contemporary references does not seem to justify. 

While neither of the two charters throws direct light 
on the subject under discussion, a significant clause in 
the closing section of the Act of 1566 is hardly to be in- 
terpreted on any other supposition than that of a Joint 
Stock. This section extends the freedom of the Company 
to persons of York, Newcastle, Hull and Boston who have 
for ten years continually "traded the course of merchan- 
dise," on condition that before December 25, 1567, they 

7i E.g., Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce, 
II, 215. 

72 It is so classified by Cunningham, II, 239 ff. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 39 

"shal contribute, joyne, and put in stocke, to, with, and 
amongst the said company, such summe and summes of 
money, as any of the said company, which hath throughly 
continued and contributed to the said newe trade, from 
the yeere 1552. hath done, and before the saide 25. of 
December 1567. shall do for the furniture of one ordinary, 
full and intire portion, or share." 73 This certainly is open 
to the interpretation that a merchant of the towns speci- 
fied might join the Company by purchasing a share of its 
stock and^ paying in addition all assessments which had 
been levied since the beginning of the trade. 74 

Two years before the granting of this second charter the 
Company petitioned the Privy Council that interlopers 
should be restrained from trading with Russia. The pe- 
tition mentions the great loss with which the trade had 
been maintained for the previous twelve years. Then fol- 
lows the statement that the petitioners "are forced to add 
60£ to the former stock, to make every single share 200£, 
but finding the trade to the Narve attempted by "William 
Bond, they are so discouraged that they cannot be per- 
suaded to increase the stock." 75 Obscure as this statement 
undoubtedly is it still seems to point clearly to some sort 
of Joint Stock arrangement. Of similar tenor but scarcely 
less ambiguous is a letter of the Company to their agent 
Christopher Holme in 1591 in which he is told that the 
Company "have increased his venture 200£, on account of 
his having obtained encouragement of the trade. ' ' 76 Still 
more significant is a notice to the same agent shortly before 
in which he is directed to prevent private traffic. 77 

"Hakluyt, III, 91. 

74 Macpherson states that this clause in favor of the northern 
towns was due to the fact that they had contributed to the first 
attempt for a northeast passage, but he cites no authority for the 
statement. — Macpherson, I, 144. 

75Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 4. 

76Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1591-1594, p. 41. 

vlbid., p. 30. 



40 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

On June 25, 1569, Thomas Bannister and Geoffrey 
Duckett writing from Russia to the Privy Council on the 
state of Russian relations and the affairs of the Company 
mention that one purpose of their mission was "to re- 
cover the Company's stock out of their factor's hands." 78 
Later in their letter they announce that the Emperor "has 
commanded Thomas Glover to deliver up the Company's 
goods in his hands." 79 Another bit of evidence in the 
same direction is to be found in a letter of one William 
Smith written from Russia in 1572 in which after describ- 
ing certain difficulties he had experienced in the Com- 
pany's service he says "but there was suche matters layd 
to my charge, that if I went not the company's stock were 
lyke all to be loste." 80 Evidently the Company was trad- 
ing as a collective unit, not as separate individuals. 

Important in its bearing on the question is a letter to 
Robert Cecil written November 20, 1595, by Francis 
Cherry, the Company's agent at that time. Cherry asks 
Cecil to use his influence in the Company's behalf and 
reviews its recent vicissitudes. "I thought it much be- 
hooful briefly to acquaint you with the present state of 
our Company; which in times past consisted of many per- 
sons to the number of 80, and somewhiles more, who 
traded with one entire and common stock . . . " 81 

The numerous references to the Company buying and 
selling its wares constitute an important part of the evi- 
dence on the point under discussion. The agents in Russia 
represented the Company there, and attended to matters 

78Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1569-1571, p. 90. 

™ Ibid., p. 91. 

so Wright, Queen Elizabeth and Her Times, I, 419. Wright men- 
tions the difficulty of identifying the writer of this interesting letter 
(p. 418, note). It is probable that this was the same William Smith 
who was in the Company's employ in 1566, and whom Arthur Ed- 
wards mentions as "an honest yong man, and one that doeth good 
service here." — Hakluyt, III, 48. 

8i Hatfield House MSS. V, 462. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 41 

of trade for the Company as a whole. In 1555 Gray and 
Killingworth were appointed "to be Agents, Factors, and 
Atturneis generall and specially for the whole body of this 
companie, to buy, sel, trucke, change and permute al, and 
every kind and kindes of wares, marchandizes and goods 
to the said company appertaining, now laden & shipped 
in the good ship called the Edward Bonaventure, appointed 
for Russia, the same to utter and sell to the best com- 
moditie, profit and advantage of the said corporation, be 
it for ready money, wares & marchandises, or truck, pres- 
ently, or for time, as occasion & benefit of the companie 
shal require: and all such wares as they or either of them 
shal buy, trucke, or provide, or cause to be bought for the 
company to lade them homeward in good order and con- 
dition, as by prudent course of marchandises, shall, and 
ought to appertaine. ' ' 82 The fact that the agents were 
acting for the Company as a whole is made still more 
evident by their further authorization "to binde & charge 
the said company by debt for wares upon credit, as good 
opportunitie and occasion shall serve, with power to charge 
and bind the said company, and their successors, for the 
paiments of such things as shalbe taken up for credite. ' ' 83 
The whole tone of these instructions supports our con- 
tention for a joint stock basis. For instance it is pro- 
vided that "no inferiour minister shall take upon him to 
make any bargaine or sale of any wares, marchandises or 
goods, but by the Commission and Warrantise of the sayde 
Agents under their handes. ' ' 84 Again, the agents are in- 
structed to "learne and observe all kinde of wares, as wel 
naturals as forein, that be beneficiall for this Realme, to 
be sold for the benefit of the company, and what kinde of 
our commodities and other things of these West partes bee 

82Hakluyt, II, 281. 

83 iUd. 

MlMd., II, 284. 



42 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

most vendible in those Realmes with profite, giving a per- 
fect advise of all such things requisite. ' ' 84 Even more 
significant is the following quotation: "if the Emperour 
will enter into bargain with you for the whole masse of 
your stock, and will have the trade of it to utter to his 
owne subjects, then debating the matter prudently among 
your selves, set such high prises of your commodities, as 
you may assure your selves to be gainers in your owne 
wares, and yet to buy theirs at such base prises, as you 
may here also make a commoditie and gaine at home, hav- 
ing in your mindes the notable charges that the companie 
have diff rayed in advancing this voyage: and the great 
charges that they sustaine dayly in wages, victuals and 
other things. ' ' 85 

The servants of the Company in Russia were required 
to take a solemn oath to serve the Company faithfully and 
obey its agents. The oath administered to them ends as 
follows: "and you shall not directly or indirectly, openly 
or covertly doe, exercise or use any trade or feate of mar- 
chandizes for your owne private account, commodity, gaine 
or profite, or for the account of or for any other person 
or persons, without consent or licence of this said fellow- 
ship, first obtained in writing. And if you shall know or 
understand any other person or persons to use, exercise 
or doe any trade, traffieke or feat of marchandise, to or 
for his or their own account or accounts, at any time or 
times hereafter, that then ye shall truely and plainly dis- 
close . . . the same unto this said fellowship, with- 
out fraude, colour, covin or delay: So helpe you God, 
etc. ' ' 86 Individual merchants were evidently not to re- 
ceive any of the benefits of the trade. 

All the correspondence of the Company with its agents 
in Russia seems to point to the same conclusion. Expres- 

ssHakluyt, II, 284. 
se Hid., II, 290. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 43 

sions like the following occur: "the companies goods, and 
that under their marke, ' ' 87 — ' ' You shall receive, . . . 
God sending them in safety for the use of the Company, 
these kinds of wares following, all marked with the gen- 
eral marke of the Company, ' ' 88 etc. The letter of in- 
structions sent in 1557 to the agents in Russia refers with 
unusual definiteness to the common trade: "Of furres we 
desire no great plentie, because they be dead wares. And 
as for Felts, we will in no wise you send any. . . . We 
would you bought as much Wexe principally as you may 
get." 89 

In 1567 Robert Glover, an agent of the Company, wrote 
home about their affairs in Russia. He mentions that cer- 
tain English merchants were selling "better cheap Eng- 
lish commodities than the company" and closes his letter 
with the statement that he will "seal up the goods of the 
company till such time as he has answer. ' ' 90 The next 
year when Bannister and Duckett were sent to Russia 
by the Company to investigate certain charges that had 
been made we find them writing to Cecil that they "find 
the estate of the Company to stand very evil, as well touch- 
ing their accounts as also with the Prince. ' ' 91 

That the Company not only traded in Russia on a Joint 
Stock basis, but sold its wares in England on the same 
plan is indicated by the fact that the English government 
purchased cordage from the Company, not from its indi- 
vidual members. Under date of May 19, 1568, we have a 
definite record of articles between the Queen and the Mus- 
covy Company in which the Company contracts for the 
delivery of "cables, haw T sers, cordage and other tacke at 
Deptford dockyard to the value of 4000£ 8s 10d." 92 All 

srHakluyt, II, 319. 

sslUd., II, 380. 

wlbid., II, 381. 

soCal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 309. 

9i Ibid., p. 518. MlUd., p. 462. 



f 



44 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

the references to the relations of the Company to the gov- 
ernment tend to substantiate this idea. The government 
was frequently indebted to the Company for goods de- 
livered. In 1582 Walsingham wrote to Burghley that the 
Muscovy Company request payment of the money due to 
them for wax taken these two years past for the use o 
her Majesty's household. 93 

After all, perhaps the chief argument to prove that the 
Muscovy Company's business must have been managed on 
a Joint Stock basis is to be found in the physical fact of 
the actual distance of Russia and the numerous difficulties 
of communication. These would almost inevitably have 
rendered impossible any extensive trading by individual 
English merchants. The other alternative, that the trade 
was managed through a succession of temporary combina- 
tions of members of the Company, while in itself a pos- 
sible supposition, conflicts with most of the references just 
cited. The numerous indications of the whole member- 
ship trading as a single group contained in the directions 
to the agents and in the references to the government's 
dealings with the Company would seem absolutely to pre- 
clude this possibility. 

With one more argument we shall bring this portion 
of our discussion to a close. A Joint Stock basis is the 
most plausible, if not the only, explanation of the pres- 
ence of a group of noblemen among the members. These 
would hardly have engaged in individual trade. That they 
actually derived a profit from their membership in the 
Company is evidenced by a letter written to Lord Burghley 
in 1568 by Humphrey Lok and John Fenton. They write 
to complain of the Company's oppressive and unjust ac- 
tions but add significantly that they "are sorry that Cecil 
is one of the voyage, for where in three or four years he 
gains one hundred pounds he sells for the same one thou- 

»3Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 75. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY 45 

sand pounds worth of honour. " 94 In those days as in our 
own time the connection of government officials with 
wealthy corporations was evidently looked at askance. 

o^Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 463. 



CHAPTER III 

THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT AND THE COMPANY 

We have already had occasion to notice the close con- 
nection between the English government and the Muscovy 
Company. This connection is so important as to warrant 
separate and definite consideration. Our discussion of the 
topic will fall under four main heads. In the first place 
we shall need to examine the nature and extent of the 
privileges, both governmental and commercial, granted to 
the Company by the crown and by Parliament. In the 
second place the question of the exportation of contra- 
band to Russia will need some consideration inasmuch as 
this question necessarily involves the relation of the Gov- 
ernment to the only authorized carriers of merchandise from 
England to the dominions of the Czar. A third phase of 
our discussion will treat of the Company's part in the 
diplomatic relations between the two nations. Finally we 
shall devote some attention to the commercial dealings of 
the English government with the Muscovy Company. 



1. The Government's Grant of Privileges to the Com- 
pany. 

The letters of incorporation of 1555 guaranteed that the 
Company should have perpetual succession. This furnishes 
a decided contrast to some of the later Companies whose 
charters set definite time limits to the privileges they con- 
ferred. The same clause of the Muscovy Company's char- 

46 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 47 

ter authorizes the use of a common seal and provides that 
the Company shall be forever capable in law to purchase, 
possess, grant and let lands and other possessions to the 
annual value of one hundred marks. 1 The corporation is 
further given the right "in the law to implead, and be 
impleaded, to answere, and to be answered, to defende, 
and to be defended" in all courts in cases touching the 
Company's affairs, "in as ample manner and forme, as 
any other corporation of this our Realme may doe. ' ' 2 

The right of self regulation conferred by the charter and 
by it vested in the Governors, Consuls and Assistants has 
been referred to in another connection. 3 The only limita- 
tion on this power is that no regulations of the Company 
may conflict with the royal prerogative, statute or common 
law, or with the privileges of the corporation of London 
or of any other corporation established by royal grant. 4 
Otherwise the control of the Company over the affairs of 
its members is supreme. This right of self -regulation is 
supplemented, moreover, by the guarantee of government 
assistance in the carrying out of its decisions. The ser- 
geants appointed by the Company to collect fines, for- 
feitures, etc., are authorized by the charter to seize the 
property and person of offending members "in every place 
and places not f ranchised. " 5 If the offender should be 
in any "place f ranchised or priviledged where the said 
officer or officers may not lawfully intromit or intermid- 
dle" (e.g., in cities, boroughs or "townes incorporate") the 
regular officials of those places shall seize and turn over to 
the Company the offender's goods and person, formal re- 
quest having been made by the Governors, Consuls and 
Assistants "under the common seale." 5 Mayors, sheriffs, 

iHakluyt, II, 308. 

2 Ibid., II, 309. 

3 Supra, pp. 31, 32. 
4Hakluyt, II, 311. 

5 Hid., II, 312. 



48 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

bailiffs or other officials who assist the Company in the 
manner specified " shall not be impeached, molested, vexed 
or sued in any our court or courts, for executing or put- 
ting in execution of any of the said precept or precepts. ' ' 6 

The Company is authorized to send its vessels on voy- 
ages of discovery under the English flag. 6 Further they 
may take possession, in the name of the English govern- 
ment, of any "lands of infidelity," i.e., non-Christian 
regions, which they may discover. 7 Formal possession is 
to be taken by planting on those places "our banners, 
standards, flags, and Ensignes. ' ' 7 The natural narrowing 
of the Company's interest to the Russian trade, and the 
unsuccessful outcome of their attempts at further explora- 
tion to the northeast and southeast account for the rela- 
tively slight historical importance of this grant of the 
right to subjugate distant nations, a right of much greater 
significance in the history of some of the later trading com- 
panies. 

The Company's trading privileges were fully as exten- 
sive as its grant of jurisdiction. The Charter of 1555 
granted to the Company the right to trade with any lands 
they might come upon in their voyages, not hitherto fre- 
quented by English merchants, "in whatsoever part of the 
world they be situated. ' ' 8 This general privilege is not, 
however, in the nature of a monopoly. It merely extends 
to the Muscovy Company the right to enjoy any new trades 
that it may discover. 

Exclusive trading privileges, on the other hand, were 
granted by this charter so far as the trade with Russia 
was concerned. All Englishmen except the Company and 
its employees were forbidden under penalty to engage in 
trade with that country save by express license granted 

eHakluyt, II, 313. 
7 Ibid., II, 314. 
s Ibid., II, 313. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 49 

by the "Governour, Consuls, and Assistants of the said 
f elowship and communalty. " ° In fact the wording of 
the provision would seem to imply that not only English 
merchants, but Englishmen of any degree, were prohib- 
ited from visiting for any purpose whatever, except by 
special permission, the lands of whose trade the Company 
enjoyed the monopoly. At least this restriction would 
seem to arise from a strict interpretation of the statement 
that these lands "shall not be visited, frequented, nor 
hanted by any our subjects, other then of the sayd com- 
pany and felowship." 9 

Another extensive grant of commercial privilege was 
contained in the sweeping provision of the charter which 
delegated to the Company the exclusive right to trade with 
any lands not previous to that time frequented by English 
merchants and "lying Northwards, Northeastwards, or 
Northwestwards. ' ' 9 In regard to these lands the same 
prohibition was to apply to trade by other Englishmen as 
in the case with Russia. Of the three grants, i.e., the right 
to trade with all parts of the world with which the Com- 
pany might establish relations, the exclusive right to trade 
with Russia, and the exclusive right to trade with any 
other northern country not before that time engaged in 
commerce with England, the monopoly of Russian trade 
seems to have appeared of most practical value to the 
Company and to have determined in the main the field 
of its activities. 

The alternate successes and failures of Ivan IV in his 
wars with his neighbors led to a frequent shift of Russian 
boundaries. In 1554 the conquest of Astrakhan had given 
Russia a port on the Caspian. It was this outlet toward 
the south that suggested to the Company the series of 
efforts to establish an overland trade to Cathay and to 
Persia which occupied its attention, more or less intermit- 

sHakluyt, II, 315. 



50 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 






tently, for more than twenty years. In 1558 Anthony 
Jenkinson secured from the Czar permission to open a 
trade with the far south-east. The next year he returned 
to Moscow from his first Persian voyage, 10 having demon- 
strated the practicability of the overland route to that 
country. 

Another change in the geographical limits of the Com- 
pany's trading interests occurred in 1558 when Narva fell 
into Ivan's hands, thus giving Russia an outpost on the 
Baltic. The question whether the privileges of the Com- 
pany extended to a port which had not been part of the 
Czar's dominions at the time the charter was granted was 
a difficult one. English merchants who were not mem- 
bers of the Company claimed the right of trading with 
Narva. The Company's very existence was threatened. 

The Act of 1566 settled definitely and finally the ques- 
tion of the Company's exclusive right to the trade with 
Narva, and the further question of the Company's monop- 
oly of the overland trade with Persia. As to the latter, 
the act specifically adds "the countries of Armenia major 
or minor, Media, Hyrcania, Persia," and the Caspian sea 
to the list of places not to be visited by any Englishmen 
except with the Company's consent. 11 This was a specific 
enlargement of the original grant, which could not in any 
way be construed to include a monopoly of a trade with 
southwestern Asia. 

It is held by most writers on the subject that to the Act 
of 1566 the Company also owed its exclusive right to the 
trade with Narva. 12 The great trouble caused by mer- 
chants not of the Company trading with Narva before 

io Jenkinson's account of this interesting trip is in Hakluyt, II, 
p. 449 ff. 

ii Hakluyt, III, 88. 

i 2 Wheeler, Treatise of Commerce, p. 55. Wheeler is followed by 
Cunningham, II, 239, and by modern writers generally. Cf. Stahlin, 
"Francis Walsingham und seine Zeit," I, 196. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 51 

the grant of the second charter and the specific mention 
of Narva in that charter indicate, it is contended, that 
the Charter of 1555 did not of its own force extend the 
rights of the Company to the Baltic port when that region 
became Russian territory. The facts of the case, however, 
point to a different conclusion and merit brief considera- 
tion in this place. 

The grant to the Company of the exclusive right to 
trade with any lands to the north, northwest or northeast 
with which they should establish relations must clearly 
have included Narva, for up to 1560 English merchants 
had not engaged in trade with that port. 13 Beginning in 
that year individual Englishmen trading independently 
with Russia by way of its town on the Baltic struck a 
blow at the Company's dearest privilege. In November, 
1564, the Company made formal complaint to the Privy 
Council asking that "William Bond and his partners be 
restrained from trading with the Narve. ' ' 14 This peti- 
tion was not a request for an extension of the Company's 
privilege, but an appeal for the enforcement of its 
monopoly. 

Wheeler in his "Treatise of Commerce/' 1601, takes 
the ground that the Act of 1566 by its mention of Narva 
specifically enlarged the scope of the Company's exclusive 
privilege. He cites Narva prior to the date of the second 
charter as an instance of the evils of unregulated trade 
competition. "In the yere 1565," he says, "a number 
of stragling merchants resorting thither out of this Realme, 
the trade was utterly spoiled, . . . which being made 
knowne to her Maiestie, and her Highnes right Honour- 
able privie Counsell, order was taken at the next Parlia- 

isHakluyt, III, 335.— "And at this time (1560) was the first 
traffic to the Narve in Livonia . . . this trade to the Narve 
was hitherto concealed from us by the Danskers and Lubeckers." 

i4Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 4. 



52 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

ment, that the Towne of Name should be comprized 
within the Charter of the Muscovie Company, to prevent 
the like pedlarlike kinde of dealing ever after. ' ' 15 Sec- 
ondary writers from that time forward seem to have taken 
the ground that the including of Narva in the second 
charter implied an additional grant of privilege. Careful 
reading of the first charter, however, leads to the conclusion 
that the provision referring to Narva in the Act of 1566 
must be construed as a mere emphasis of a privilege con- 
cerning which there had been some controversy and con- 
siderable difficulty of enforcement. As we shall see, even 
this reiteration failed to secure to the Company the en- 
joyment of its exclusive right in the Baltic. 

An interesting and conclusive bit of evidence on the 
point under consideration is to be found in the case of 
an interloper sued in the Court of Admiralty under date 
of 1572. The defendant had traded with Narva without 
the consent of the Company. The verdict of the court 
was against him. The fact of significance, however, is 
that the court cited the first Charter of 1555 as the basis 
of its decision. 16 

The matter of interlopers was one of the most serious 
difficulties of the Company and one which must have fre- 
quently brought it into direct relation with the English 
government. Both charters definitely prohibit English- 
men not of the Company from engaging in trade with Rus- 
sia. 17 The penalty for this offense is forfeiture of ship and 
cargo, "the one halfe of the same forfeiture to be to the 
use of us, our heires, and successors, and the other halfe to 

15 Wheeler, Treatise of Commerce, p. 55. 

is Select Cases in the Court of Admiralty, p. 149. In this deci- 
sion the company is referred to by the name given it in its first 
charter. The document contains a recital of the letters patent 
from Philip and Mary granting monopoly of trade to Kussia with 
prohibition of interlopers upon pain of forfeiture of ship and cargo. 

iTHakluyt, II, 315; III, 88. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 53 

be to the use of the sayd fellowship and cummunaltie. ' ' 18 
Suit may be brought against offenders either by the crown 
or by the Company "in any court of Record, or in any 
other Court or courtes within this Realme, or els where, by 
Action of debt, action of detinue, bill, plaint, information, 
or otherwise: in which suite no essoine, protection, wager 
of lawe, or injunction shall be allowed, for, or on the be- 
half e of the partie or parties defendant. ' ' 19 The Charter 
of 1566 makes special provision that persons not of the 
Company who had unlawfully engaged in the trade to 
the Company's lands shall not be impeached for past of- 
fenses, and such persons are given until June 29, 1568, to 
bring their goods and ships back to England. 20 That the 
government actually carried out the provisions against in- 
terlopers is indicated by the typical admiralty case cited 
above. 

An interesting restriction of the Charter of 1566 pro- 
vides that only English vessels, "sailed for the most part 
with English mariners," shall be used by the Company in 
the exportation of its goods and in the carrying of mer- 
chandise "from their saide new trade" into England or 
into Flanders. 21 The penalty prescribed for each infringe- 
ment of this ruling is a fine of 200£, one-half to go to the 
crown and the rest to be used for the repair of harbors of 
any port town that "will sue for the same in any Court 
of Record. ' ' 21 That this provision was carefully observed 
is evidenced by a memorial of the Company under date of 
May, 1576, in which they explain that "having great store 
of wares lying at the Narve in great danger, they were 
forced to hire three Lubeckers' vessels to transport the 
same, and request license to bring the same into the 

isHakluyt, II, 315; III, 88. 
is Ibid., Ill, 88. 
20 IUd., Ill, 89. 
2i Ibid., Ill, 90. 



54 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

realm. ' ' 22 Another prohibitive restriction in the same 
charter forbids the exportation of any ' ' clothes or karsies ' ' 
before the same shall be ' ' all dressed and for the most part 
died within this Realm, upon paine of forfeiture for every 
such cloth and karsie . . . five pounds," half to go 
to the crown and the rest to the "Master and Clothwork- 
ers in the Citie of London. ' ' 23 

Finally, the second charter provides that if at any time 
the Company shall "willingly withdraw, and discontinue 
wholy by the space of three yeers in time of peace" their 
trade with Russia, it shall be lawful during that interval 24 
for all English subjects to engage in trade with that coun- 
try, only, however, by way of Narva and only in English 
ships. 25 



2. The Exportation of Contraband. 

One of the chief motives that led Russia to establish re- 
lations with England was her need for the implements of 
western civilization in her struggle with the powers on the 
Baltic. To secure an alliance with a member of the Eu- 
ropean family of nations, she was willing to go to great 
lengths in the direction of granting extensive commercial 
privileges. After the accession of Elizabeth in 1558 the 
isolation of England was in many respects analogous to 
that of Russia, and would at first glance seem to suggest 
that the English government would feel the need of firm 
friendships fully as much as the distant Czar. It must be 
remembered, on the other hand, that offensive and defen- 

22Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 523. 
23Hakluyt, III, 90. 

24 This clause is not very clear. The words of the charter are, 
"during the time of any such discontinuance and withdrawing." 

25 Hakluyt, III, 91. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 55 

sive alliances were entirely at variance with Elizabethan 
policy. England, moreover, would have little to gain and 
much to lose in making Russia's quarrels her own. At 
the same time her commercial interests forbade any break 
in the newly established Russian relations and brought 
about a willingness to perform unofficial acts of friend- 
ship wherever they could be indulged in without serious 
risk. This sufficiently explains the exportation of muni- 
tions of war to Russia. The Muscovy Company were the 
authorized carriers of whatever English merchandise 
reached the White Sea and Narva. 

At the time of Osep Napea's embassy to England (1557) 
the Venetian ambassador in a letter to the Doge and Sen- 
ate said, ' ' There is now here an ambassador from the Mus- 
covites who demands a loan of ammunition and artillery, 
his lord being at war, and subsequently another ambassa- 
dor arrived from the King of Sweeden to prevent the 
grant of this demand . . . ; but their majesties here 
have not yet formed any decision. ' ' 26 The English reply 
to Ivan's requests, whatever they may have been, was en- 
tirely favorable. Napea carried back a letter from Philip 
and Mary promising advantages to Russian merchants if 
they should come to England. 27 While the letter makes no 
specific reference to the sending of munitions it does con- 
tain a significant statement that all Ivan's requests have 
been granted (''Omnia libenter concessimus que ad vestram 
expectationem et peticionem pertinebant.") 28 It specific- 
ally promises, moreover, that English artificers will be at 
liberty to go to Russia ("Placet etiam nobis vt mercatores 
et artifices regni nostri si qui volent in vestre ditionis 
urbes et loca proficiscantur bona cum venia et fauore.") 29 

26Cal. S. P. (Venetian) 1556-1557, p. 1005. 

2T Tolstoy, p. 13. Minut to the Emperor of Russia from queene 
Mary concerning the priuileges of the marchants. 

28 Tolstoy, p. 13. 

29 Ibid., p. 14. 



56 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Suspicion that England was sending assistance to "the 
Muscovite" soon found expression in the various countries 
interested. In 1558 Thomas Alcock traveling through 
Poland on the Company's service was seized as a spy. 
Mary wrote to King Sigismund in July demanding his re- 
lease. 30 In a letter to Richard Gray and Henry Lane, at 
that time agents for the Company in Russia, he gives an 
account of the questions that were put to him in the course 
of his examination. "Then he demanded of mee," writes 
Alcock, "what wares wee brought into Russia, and what 
wee carried from thence. I declared the same unto them. 
Then they burdened mee, that wee brought thither thou- 
sandes of ordinance, as also of harneis, swordes, with other 
munitions of warre, artificers, copper, with many other 
things." 31 

After the accession of Elizabeth the suspicion incurred 
by Mary of secretly aiding Ivan in his struggle against his 
neighbors continued to fall with undiminished force upon 
the English government. On August 17, 1559, the Em- 
peror Ferdinand addressed a letter to the Queen in which 
he speaks of the danger to Christendom if Ivan should get 
possession of Livonia. "If he shall conquer the Livonians 
he will not be content, but will turn his arms against the 
Queen and other Christian Princes; but if the Livonians, 
who act as a sort of bulwark, are helped to repulse him 
. . . there will be no danger of such a calamity. ' ' 32 
Elizabeth is invited to join in the league against Russia. 

Two years later the German emperor made the Livonian 
disorders the subject of another letter to the English 
Queen. This time she is not asked to join any anti-Rus- 
sian alliance, an evident recognition of the futility of that 

30 Hist. MSS. Com. 13th Report, app. part II, p. 10 (Portland 
MSS.). 

siHakluyt, II, 399. 

32 Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1558-1559, p. 484. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 57 

request. The letter makes specific reference, however, to 
the subject of contraband: "The Muscovites are greatly 
encouraged by obtaining from abroad such war-like stores 
as they lack, viz., guns, shot, powder, nitre, sulphur, lead, 
iron and the like, provisions, especially salt and herrings, 
various goods, as silks and cloth; they have also obtained 
artizans and men skilled in war-like matters. He . . . 
begs her to see that none of her subjects go into Muscovy, 
and most especially that none transport stores to that 
country. ' ' 33 

At about the same time a similar complaint was made by 
the Senate of Hamburg 34 and by the Senate of Cologne. 35 
In a letter to Elizabeth from the former city under date 
of April 14, 1561, the statement is made that certain large 
quantities of armor and cannon shipped from their port 
are said to be intended for the Russians in their war 
against the Livonians, which is in contravention of the Im- 
perial decree. The vessel has been stayed until they can 
hear from Elizabeth that these arms are for her own use. 

That the idea that England was assisting Ivan with 
supplies had gained credence in the lands about the Bal- 
tic and North Seas is further evidenced by a letter writ- 
ten to Cecil from Antwerp, July 11, 1561, by his secretary, 
W. Herlle. The writer says, " ... The rumour of 
the Queen having transported armour into Russia is very 
brym (sic) here; and it is told to all the Princes of Ger- 
many that the losing of Livonia is through the furniture 
of ammunition which the English sent to the Russians." 30 

To these various charges Elizabeth responded by a 
prompt denial. In answer to the Emperor's demand that 
she prohibit intercourse with Russia she promised to pre- 
vent the export of war material or supplies, but added that 

33 Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1561-1562, p. 126. 

34 Ibid., p. 59. 
zslbid., p. 90. 
36 IUd., p. 174. 



58 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

she must allow her merchants to trade in skins. 37 To the 
Senate of Hamburg she sent the assurance "on her royal 
word" that "all the arms and munitions shipped in her 
name from Hamburg are intended solely for the defence 
of her realm. ' ' 38 She further expressed the desire that 
the author of the rumor that they were intended for the 
Muscovites might be sought out and punished, and that 
the import of her letter might be widely made known. 38 

In fact Elizabeth seems to have felt very strongly that 
public repudiation of the charge of sanctioning the send- 
ing of contraband to Russia should be made promptly and 
emphatically. On June 28, 1561, she wrote to Cecil in 
reference to the injurious reports that armor was being 
conveyed from England to Muscovy and asked that strict 
orders be given that no sort of armor or artillery be 
transported out of the realm. 39 Accordingly, on July 8, 
a royal proclamation was issued prohibiting the transporta- 
tion of armor into Russia, "or to any other place in war 
with any nation in Christendom," and boldly asserting 
that the rumor that the Queen had caused arms to be 
made in Germany and transported into Russia was "false, 
vain, and malicious. ' ' 40 

Denial and proclamation notwithstanding, the com- 
plaints continued. Formal protest was made by the Dan- 
ish ambassador in 1565, 41 and reply made that "as not past 
two or three vessels go yearly to Muscovy, it will be easy 
to give order that no armor or victual be put into them 
but such as shall be necessary for their navigation. ' ' 42 
In 1568 the King of Poland wrote to Elizabeth that he 
had "interdicted all commerce with his enemy of Mus- 

37Cal. Clarendon MSS. (Bodl.) Addenda, No. 92. 
38Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1561-1562, p. 102. 
39Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 178. 
40Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1561-1562, p. 171. 
*iCal. S. P. (Foreign) 1564-1565, p. 279. 
42 Hid. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 59 

covy, and placed vessels to seize all ships doing so, which 
he has commanded to be impounded together with their 
cargoes. ' ' 43 

That assistance was actually given to Ivan by the send- 
ing of supplies from England is indicated by Anthony 
Jenkinson's account of his embassy to Russia in 1572. In 
reminding the Czar of his obligations to England he said, 
"And since the first time of their traffiking in thy Majes- 
ties dominions, which is now nineteene yeres, the said 
merchants have bene, and are alwayes ready and willing 
truely to serve thy highnesse of all things meete for thy 
Treasurie, in time of peace and of warre in despite of all 
thy enemies . . . and have brought, and do bring 
from time to time such commoditie to thee, Lord, as her 
Majestie doeth not suffer to be transported foorth of her 
Realme to no other Prince of the world." 44 Later refer- 
ences are even more explicit and leave no doubt whatever 
as to the fact. Giles Fletcher, ambassador to Russia in 
1588, specifically refers to the fact that the Queen and the 
Company had for many years served the emperor "with 
necessarie commodities for his wears. ' ' 45 

In regard to the sending of English workmen to Russia 
the evidence is also conclusive. We have already seen that 
Queen Mary in 1557 had explicitly granted Ivan's re- 
quest for English artificers. Ten years later the Czar 
demanded that "the Q-s ma-tie would lycence maisters to 
come unto him which can make shippes, and sayle 
them. ' ' 46 That Englishmen were ready to take advantage 
of opportunities in Russia is shown by a letter written 

*3Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 424. 

*4Hakluyt, HI, 177. 

45 Fletcher's account of his embassy in Russia at the Close of the 
Sixteenth Century. Appendix IV, pp. 347-348. 

4« Tolstoy, p. 38. Antho. Jenkinson's message done to the Q. 
Ma-tie from the Emperor of Moscouia. 



60 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

from Russia in 1572. The writer/ 7 after complaining of 
the difficulties and dangers incurred in the service of the 
Company, says, ' ' I could have had fifty robulls a year, and 
meat and drink, to have served the Emperor. " 48 He goes 
on to explain that ' ' There is as good as a sixteen Englishe 
maryners at the Narve, which dothe serve, and hathe good 
entertaynment : he that is worst hathe thirty robulls a year, 
and fifteen d. a daye besides, to find him meat and drink, 
and a house they have every man at the Emperor's 
charges. ' ' 48 In the case of men as in that of munitions 
there can be little doubt of the friendly cooperation of 
the English government as well as of the Company. 



3. The Company's Part in Diplomatic Relatiojis. 

It is very difficult to make a sharp distinction between 
the Muscovy Company's activities in its attempts to main- 
tain and enlarge its commercial privileges in Russia, and 
the diplomatic activities of the English government which 
frequently had the same object. The interests of the Gov- 
ernment and of the Company, so far as Russian relations 
were concerned, were identical: both desired the protec- 
tion and extension of English mercantile rights. It was 
natural, therefore, that the Company's agents should for 
the most part have been entrusted with the management 
of diplomatic relations with the Czar, and that special am- 
bassadors from the English court should have been sent 
seldom and only on the occasion of some serious danger 
to the Company's commercial privileges. 

From the Russian point of view, however, there was no 
such identity of mercantile and political interests. From 

47 I.e., William Smith. Cf. supra, p. 39, note. 

48 Wright, Queen Elizabeth and Her Times, II, p. 420. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 61 

the first Ivan desired a firm league of amity with Eng- 
land. As we have seen he had great need of English arms 
and munitions and of English workmen. Later he made 
offers of marriage with a kinswoman of Elizabeth's. 
These were obviously matters that involved a direct rela- 
tion to the English government. Special embassies were 
consequently sent to England from time to time to treat 
directly with the English sovereign and her ministers. 
Osep Napea, of whose visit in 1557 we have already had 
occasion to speak, was the first of these. Other embassies 
were sent by the Czar in 1569, 1582, and again in 1600. 

The Company's part in the diplomatic activities of the 
two countries can best be considered under three heads: — 
(1) the Company's agents as ambassadors, (2) the Com- 
pany's relation to special ambassadors sent to Russia, and 
(3) the Company's relation to the ambassadors sent by 
the Czar to England. 

To the extent that the agents of the Muscovy Company 
treated with the Russian government as official representa- 
tives of the English sovereign we may be justified in con- 
sidering them as diplomatic agents. Chancellor may be 
said to have been acting in this capacity when in 1553 he 
presented to the Czar the letter of Edward VI "to all 
Kings, Princes, Rulers, etc.," and when he brought Ivan's 
reply back to England the following year. The same may 
be said of his mission in 1555 when with Killingworth and 
Gray he bore the official letters of Philip and Mary to the 
Czar. 49 

In 1557 Anthony Jenkinson, who had taken service with 
the Company for four years at an annual salary of 40£, 50 
was captain of the vessel that carried Napea back to Rus- 
sia. 51 In 1561 Jenkinson once more left England for Rus- 

49 Hakluyt, II, 278 ff. 
bo Ibid., II, 390. 
si Ibid., II, 413. 



62 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 



ions 



sia and Persia, this time carrying not only instructions 
from the Company 52 but also letters from Queen Eliza- 
beth to the Czar 53 and to the "great Sophy of Persia." 54 
That on this occasion the English government considered 
him its official representative is clearly indicated by the 
wording of the letter to Ivan in which Elizabeth, asking 
for the same consideration that had been accorded to 
Jenkinson on his previous visit, says. "And we doubt not 
but that at our request, you will againe graciously shew 
unto the same Anthony, now admitted into our service, 
the like favor as heretofore Your Majesty of your meere 
motion did exhibite unto him, being then a private per- 
son. ' ' 55 The same double function is evident in Jenkin- 
son 's mission of 1566 when he represented both the Com- 
pany and the Queen. This time detailed instructions were 
framed by the Company and, at their request. 56 officially 
given to Jenkinson by the Queen. The commercial phase 
of his activities is shown by the extensive privileges he 
secured for the Company at this time. 57 The diplomatic 
side is shown by the fact that the Czar intrusted him with 
secret proposals of alliance to be presented to Elizabeth 
on his return. 58 

Jenkinson 's subsequent and last visit to Russia in 
1571-2 is even more specifically diplomatic in character. 

ssHakluyt, III. 9 ff. 

sslbid.. Ill, 1 ff. 

'^Ibid., III, 6 ff. 

ss Ibid., Ill, 5. 

56 Tolstoy, p. 2-4. •'The Societe of the marchaunts adventurers 
trading in Russia doe desier most humbly that Anthony Jenkynson 
may have in commission from the quenes ma-tie to the emperor of 
Russia to the tenor ensewing." At the close of the document is ap- 
pended in Jenkinson's handwriting, ''the true copy of the artykles, 
comytted unto me by the queues ma-tye to be declared in her 
gracs name to th' emperour off Russia. — Bv me Anthonv Jenkvn- 
son." Ibid., p. 26. 

st Infra, p. 76. 

58 Tolstoy, pp. 38-39. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 63 

The Company's interests at that time were in serious dan- 
ger. Ivan had for the second time within a period of 
three years withdrawn their privileges and had gone so 
far as to seize their wares. Whether Jenkinson's mission 
on this occasion should be considered purely as a special 
diplomatic embassy from the English government, or as a 
Company affair in which a Company agent incidentally 
took charge of an international misunderstanding is diffi- 
cult to say. There is no doubt that Jenkinson stood in a 
twofold relation. The Company's part in the event is 
evidenced by their request for "lettres . . . from her 
ma-tie to the Muscouit for Jenkinson. " 59 On the other 
hand, however, he treated not only of commercial affairs 
but, as the Queen's representative, discussed the matter 
of an offensive and defensive alliance. His mission was 
successful. The Company's privileges were restored, and 
restoration of its confiscated goods promised. 60 The last 
words of the autobiographical statement written by Jen- 
kinson soon after illustrate once more the ambiguous na- 
ture of his functions as diplomatic agent and Company 
employee: "And thus being weary and growing old, I am 
content to take my rest in mine owne house, chiefly com- 
forting my selfe, in that my service hath bene honourably 
accepted and rewarded of her majestie and the rest by 
whom I have bene imploied. ' ' 61 

On special occasions, as we have said, special ambassa- 
dors were sent by Elizabeth to the Russian court. Ivan's 
objection to merchants' affairs being given precedence 
over affairs of state, the injection into the international 
relations of matters essentially diplomatic, and, finally, 
the special request from the Czar that embassies be sent, 
probably explain the missions of Sir Thomas Randolph in 

59 Tolstoy, p. 117. The Requeste of the Marchants Adventurers 
for Russia. 

60 Infra, p. 83. 
eiHakluyt, III, 196. 



64 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

1569, of Sir Jerome Bowes in 1583, and of Giles Fletcher 
in 1588. The Company's part in the conducting of these 
embassies furnishes us with a problem of peculiar diffi- 
culty. In the nature of things commercial relations con- 
stituted the central motive of all the English diplomatic 
dealings with the Czar. Though Randolph, Bowes and 
Fletcher in all probability had no official connection with 
the Company, the Company unquestionably had a real and 
direct interest in their respective missions. 

The first ambassador extraordinary was Thomas Ran- 
dolph, one of Elizabeth's courtiers and a tried diplomat. 
He was accompanied by two agents of the Company, 
Geoffrey Duckett and Thomas Bannister, and carried a 
letter from Elizabeth to the Czar. 62 This embassy took 
place between Jenkinson's two visits of 1567 and 1571. 
Ivan, angered at Elizabeth's failure to reply to the propo- 
sitions he had made to Jenkinson, had withdrawn the Com- 
pany 's privileges. 63 Randolph managed to secure a res- 
toration of trading rights. 64 The Company seems to have 
been as influential in the management of this embassy as if 
the ambassador had been one of its own agents. The 
concluding section of Randolph's instructions reads, 
" whereas the societie of the merchants haue made choice 
of ij trusty wyse merchants of their companye, Tho: Ban- 
nister and Geofries Ducket, to whom also we haue for 
their more credit giuen commission with your help to 
treate with the same emperour, about the maters of their 
traffike. Because the said societye hath best knowledge 
how to aduance that treaty, we must wholly ref err you to 
suche instructions as the said socyetie hathe in that be- 
half e deuised. ' ' 65 

62 Tolstoy, p. 49 ff. Hir Ma-ties lettre to the Emperor of Muscouia, 
by Mr. Thomas Randolphe. 
MiMd., p. 46. 
e* Infra, p. 79 ff. 
es Tolstoy, p. 46. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 65 

Sir Jerome Bowes was sent to Russia in 1583 in response 
to a request made by the Czar. The Company's influence 
in the selection of envoys is exemplified in the contem- 
porary account of Bowes' appointment. The first choice 
had fallen upon Sir William Russell, third son of the 
Earl of Bedford. 06 Russell, however, was unwilling to 
take the hazardous journey. We are told that "then the 
company of merchants intreated for Sir Jerome Bowes. ' ' G6 
Bowes was accordingly appointed, his commission bearing 
date of June, 1583. 67 He left England June 22, bearing 
a letter from Elizabeth to the Czar. 68 Not only was the 
Company influential in his selection, but it bore the 
expense of his embassy. Our contemporary narrator says 
"he was waell sett forth most at their charge." 69 The 
large part played by the Company in the management of 
this embassy is further evidenced by a clause in Bowes' 
instructions directing him to follow the Company's wishes 
in the handling of ' ' causes of our merchants. ' ' 70 

Giles Fletcher, who was sent as ambassador to Russia 
in 1588, four years after the death of Ivan, secured a 
partial confirmation of privileges from Czar Feodor. 71 
There is no indication that his relations to the government 
and the Company were essentially different from those 
of Randolph and Bowes. In general, we are probably jus- 
tified in concluding that the Company took an important 
but indirect part in the selection of special ambassadors. 
They also shared in the framing of their instructions and 
bore the expenses of their missions. 72 

66 Travels of Sir Jerome Horsey, p. 196. 
67Hakluyt, III, 308 ff. 
wibid., Ill, 312 ff. 

69 Horsey, p. 196. 

70 Tolstoy, p. 205. Copie of instructions giuen to Sir Jerome 
Bowes. 

7i Infra, p. 90 ff. 

72Hakluyt, VIII, 135. Carlile's Discourse— "The charges of all 



66 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

To turn now to the other party in the diplomatic inter- 
course, we find in the first place that the Russian govern- 
ment frequently sent official messages to the English 
Queen by means of the Company's servants. Chancellor 
in 1553 carried the first official communication from the 
Czar to his own country. 73 Jenkinson in 1567 was en- 
trusted by Ivan with confidential messages to the Queen, 
most serious in their import and in their consequences. 7 * 
Later in the century Jerome Horsey and Francis Cherry 
while in the pay of the Company acted as diplomatic 
agents for Elizabeth and Ivan's successors. This diplo- 
matic function merety supplements the employment, al- 
ready mentioned, of these men by the English government 
for the same purpose. 

The relation of the Company to the special embassies 
sent to England by the Czar presents a separate problem. 
Osep Napea, to whose embassy in 1557 we have previously 
made reference, was, as we have seen, lodged and enter- 
tained at the expense of the Company. 75 At the banquet 
given by the Company in his honor shortly before he left 
England ' ' a cup of wine being drunke to him in the name 
and lieu of the whole companie, it was signified to him that 
the whole company with most liberal and friendly hearts, 
did frankly give to him and his all maner of costs and 
charges in victuals riding from Scotland to London during 
his abode there, and untill setting of saile aboord the ship, 
requesting him to accept the same in good part as a testi- 
mony and witnes of their good hearts, zeale and tender- 
nesse towards him and his countrey. ' ' 76 

The visit of Stephen Twerdico and Theodore Pogorella, 

Ambassadours between that Prince and her Majesty, are always borne 
by the merchants stocke." Also cf. infra, p. 88. 

73 Hakluyt, II, 271. 

74 Supra, p. 63. 

75 Supra, p. 20. 

76 Hakluyt, II, 358. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 6? 

who came from Russia to England in 1567, need not detain 
us long in this place, as they were clearly not ambassadors, 
Camden's implication to the contrary notwithstanding. 77 
They were Russian merchants bearing a letter from the 
Czar in which permission was asked that they might dis- 
pose of the Czar's wares which they carried and secure for 
him "Saphires, Rubies and apparelling, such as in our 
tresorie we haue neede of." 78 Freedom from custom and 
safe conduct were requested "that noe man may hurte or 
moleste them, sufferinge them in your shipps by godes 
helpe to come safe to us agayne." 79 Some years later 
Ivan complained that his request had not been granted 
and made that grievance the pretext for confiscating the 
goods of English merchants in Russia. 80 

Andreas Gregorowich Saviena, who accompanied Thomas 
Randolph to England in 1569, must be considered the next 
Russian ambassador after Osep Napea. Ivan's proposi- 
tions to Elizabeth had been entrusted to Jenkinson by the 
Czar in 1567. He had proposed a firm alliance which 
would put each nation under obligation to engage in war 
with the enemies of the other, and had suggested a secret 
agreement by which each monarch in the event of being 
obliged to leave his own kingdom might find refuge in that 
of his ally. 81 No reply had been made by Elizabeth to 
this proposition, the letter brought by Randolph to the 
Czar referring only to trade affairs. 82 Randolph's instruc- 
tions, moreover, definitely directed him to avoid commit- 
ting England to a treaty of alliance : — ' ' And in such good 
generall sorte we wold haue you satisfie him without giuing 
occasion to enter into any speciall treaties or capitulacon 

77 Camden, History of Elizabeth, p. 103. 

78 Tolstoy, p. 34. 

79 Hid., p. 35. 
so Ibid., p. 157. 
si Ibid., pp. 38-39. 
82 Ibid., p. 49 ff. 



68 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

of any suche legue as is called offensiue and defensiue be- 
twixt vs Whereof though the sayd Anthony Jenkinson 
made mention to vs, yet we wold have you pass those mat- 
ters with silence. ' ' 83 These directions Randolph followed 
to the letter if we can judge by Ivan's complaint to Jen- 
kinson three years later: — "but all his talk with us was 
about Merchants affaires, and nothing touching ours 
. . . and thereupon wee sent our Ambassadour into 
England with him to ende the same." 84 

Saviena arrived in England in 1569. After long nego- 
tiations the Queen agreed to the offensive and defensive 
alliance but with a condition she must have known Ivan 
would not accept: if either party to the alliance "shalbe 
iniuried by any other Prince, uppon significacon made 
thereof by the party iniuried and the justice of his cause 
made manifest" the other party shall call upon the of- 
fender to "returne to honnorable condicons of peace ac- 
cording to the lawes of Almighty God"; if this warning 
is not heeded then the allies shall unite their forces against 
the enemy. 85 In a secret letter Elizabeth grants the re- 
quest for refuge in case of need, although she does not 
follow his suggestion so far as to ask a similar favor of 
the Czar. 86 

We have little knowledge of the relation between the 
Company and Saviena during the time of his sojourn at 
the English court. The Company's interest in and influ- 
ence upon the subject of the embassy, however, are indi- 
cated by a message from Sir William Gerrard to Anthony 
Jenkinson during the ambassador's visit, containing "ser- 
ten instrokysons ... to move the Ryght honnorabell 
S-r W-m Syssyll. ' ' 87 The document gives advice on the 

ss Tolstoy, p. 45. 

silUd., pp. 174, 175. 

as Ibid., p. 75. 

86 Ibid., p. 97. 

st Ibid., pp. 82, 83. 






THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 69 

granting of trading privileges, the sending of another am- 
bassador to Russia, and the calling home of Englishmen 
who are staying in Russia against the Company's will. 
The seventh item requests "that the sayd ambassador 
maybe ffvlly ansred at thys next metyng so as he may take 
hys leve ffor that the shypes atend only upon hym and 
the yere ys ffare spent." 

The embassy of Pissemsky in 1582 dealt again with the 
subject of an alliance. He was to conclude the negotia- 
tions of a treaty and to propose a marriage for the Czar 
with Lady Mary Hastings, daughter of the Earl of Hunt- 
ingdon. Elizabeth was to be asked to send a special am- 
bassador to the Czar to treat with him about it. Pissem- 
sky had an interview with the lady ; ' ' fell prostrate to her 
feett, rise, ranne backe from her, his face still towards 
her, she and the rest admiringe at his manner. Said by 
an interpritor yt did suffice him to behold the angell he 
hoped should be his masters espouse." 88 He departed 
with Bowes in 1583. Of the relation of the Company to 
his embassy and to that of Gregory Mikouleve in 1600 89 
we have little definite information, but there is no reason 
to suppose that there was any large change in the Com- 
pany's interest or influence. 

The expense attached to the entertainment of Russian 
ambassadors in England was borne by the Company. The 
scant references we find of this phase of our topic clearly 
point in this direction. 90 Corroboration is furnished by V" 
two references at the time of an embassy a generation later. 
The Privy Council on November 18, 1628, wrote to the 
Lord Mayor requiring him to confer with the governor of 
the Muscovy Company "and provide a convenient house 

ss Horsey, p. 196. 

ssCal. S. P. (Domestic) 1598-1601, pp. 477, 478, 543. 

soHakluyt, VIII, 135. Carlile's Discourse. — "The charges of all 
.Ambassadours betweene that Prince and her Majesty, are always 
borne by the merchants stocke." 



70 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

for the Ambassador's lodging, and to give orders for such 
attendance on his arrival as was usual . . . " 91 A let- 
ter written the next month describing the reception of the 
ambassador says, "To-morrow being Sunday he will be 
received in audience by His Majesty with the usual pomp. 
He has not brought any presents, such as sables and other 
rich furs of that country, consequently the merchants here 
who pay all his expenses may send him home without pres- 
ents or with some of little value . . . " 92 

On the whole the Company's connection with the diplo- 
matic relations between England and Russia seems to have 
been very close. Even when its own servants were not em- 
ployed on diplomatic missions the Company seems, some- 
times at least, to have been a factor in the selection and 
instructions of ambassadors. The burden of bearing the 
expense, in any event, fell to its share. 



4. The Government's Commercial Dealings with the 
Company. 

The trade in cordage was one of the most profitable 
activities of the Muscovy Company. If we can take the 
word of a member of the Company there was "not the like 
cordage in Europe to be had." Less liable to bias was 
the judgment of William Burrough, "Treasurer of the 
ships," who in 1582 writing of the Russian cordage char- 
acterizes it as " the best brought into this country. " 93 It 
is not surprising that the English government in that pe- 
riod of the extension of her naval activities should have 
proved one of the Company's best customers. 

9i Remembrancia, VI, 188. 

92 Hist. MSS. Com. 11th Report, app. part I, p. 177 (Salvetti Cor- 
respondence ) . 

93Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 74. 



THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 71 

In 1568 the Queen contracted with the Company "for 
the delivery of cables, hawsers, cordage, and other tackle 
into Deptford dockyard to the value of 4000£ 8s. 10d." 94 
In March, 1588, the year of the Armada, Hawkins in a 
letter to Burleigh mentions that ' ' great cables to the value 
of 3000£ had been ordered in Muscovia." 95 The follow- 
ing year he makes mention of the fact that he has 
written for thirty cables "to be brought by the ships of 
the Muscovy Company. ' ' 96 Other references in 1591 97 
and 1593 98 indicate a continuance of the sale of cordage 
to the government in those years. 

The last decade of the century witnessed a remarkable 
increase in the amount of the sale of this commodity to 
the English government. In 1595 it amounted to almost 
6000£. 99 In 1596 the government's purchase amounted to 
9254£ 8s. 100 In 1597 it reached the sum of 13,922£ 15s. 
2d, 101 and in December of that year the government or- 
dered "10,000£ worth of cordage against the next 
year." 102 

For the cordage furnished by the Company, as for the 
wax it supplied for the use of Her Majesty's Household, 
money was not always paid as promptly as might have 
been desired. Complaints by the Company on this score 
were frequent. In 1582 Walsingham wrote to Burghley 
that the Company was demanding payment of the money 
due them for wax "taken these two years past" for the 
Queen's use. 103 Hawkins and Burrough writing to 

9* Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 462. 

95 Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 467. 

^Ibid., p. 615. 

97 Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1591-1594, p. 154. 

*%IMd., pp. 397, 408. 

99 Hatfield House MSS. V, 399. 

ioo Hid., VI, p. 511. 

ioi Ibid., VII, 484. 

102/6^., VII, 505. 

103 Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 75. 



72 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Burghley in 1593 refer to the "debt due to the Muscovy 
Company for cordage, and debts to sundry other mer- 
chants for hemp long since delivered. ' ' 104 In 1595 Fran- 
cis Cherry wrote to Burghley, "The late sum we received 
in part for our cordage taken for her Majesty's navy will 
scarcely serve to provide such other cordage as is given us 
in charge to furnish the next year; and the money behind 
for that already delivered is with the rest to be returned, 
else shall we not be able to set out our shipping, maintain 
our trade, and satisfy our creditors. " 105 A year later the 
account had not been settled. A petition sent by the Com- 
pany to the Queen in December of that year points out 
that three months before the Admiralty had made choice 
of cordage to the value of over 9000£ and asked for the pay- 
ment of this "as well as of the 658£ lis. 8d. unpaid for 
cordage delivered last year." 106 At the close of 1597 the 
Company was still endeavoring to secure payment; more 
cordage had been ordered by the government, "which we 
cannot do," complains Cherry in a letter to Robert Cecil, 
1 ' without our money, now twenty- two months owing. ' ' 10T 

104 Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1591-1594, p. 324. 

105 Hatfield House MSS. V, pp. 462-463. 
loe Ibid., VI, 511. 

107 Ibid., VII, 505. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT AND THE COMPANY 

The history of the relations of the Muscovy Company 
and the Russian government consists for the most part of 
a discussion of the various privileges granted at different 
times to the Company, and the successive modifications, 
withdrawals or extensions of these privileges by the Czar. 
It must be borne in mind that the English grants em- 
bodied in the two charters of the Company would have 
been practically valueless without some corresponding con- 
cessions by the Russian government. The English crown 
by letters patent and Parliament by statutory enactment 
could after all do no more than prohibit the Russian trade 
to Englishmen who were not members of the Company. 
Whether the English were to be permitted to trade in 
Russia at all and on what terms, and the whole problem 
of their relation to the merchants of other European na- 
tions trading in the Czar's dominions were questions which 
could be settled by Russia alone, It is the purpose of the 
present chapter to trace the history of the privileges which 
the Russian government granted to the" Muscovy Company 
in the period under consideration. 

Ivan's reply to the letter of Edward VI, although sent 
a year before the incorporation of the Company, embodied 
a definite promise of freedom of trade to English mer- 
chants. The Czar says in so many words, "And if you 
send one of your majesties counsel to treate with us 
whereby your countrey marchants may with all kinds of 

73 



74 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

wares, and where they will make their market in our do- 
minions, they shall have their free marte with all free lib- 
erties to my whole dominions with all kinds of wares to 
come and goe at their pleasure, without any let, damage or 
impediment, according to this our letter, our word and our 
seale which we have commaunded to be under sealed. ' ' * 
The following year Chancellor returned to Russia with a let- 
ter from Philip and Mary in which assurance was given 
Ivan that England was willing to reciprocate : — ' ' Which 
your benevolences so to bee extended, wee bee minded to 
requite towards any your subjects Marchants, that shal 
frequent this our realm at your contemplation therefore to 
be made." 2 

" Chiefly upon the contemplation of the gratious letters, 
directed from the right high, right excellent, and right 
mighty Queene Mary, by the grace of God Queene of Eng- 
land, France, etc.," in favor of the newly incorporated 
Company the Czar issued the first formal grant of privi- 
leges in the very year of the Company's incorporation. 
The grant bears the date of 1555 and includes eleven ar- 
ticles relating to affairs of trade and administration. 3 

The trading privileges of 1555 extended to the merchants 
of the Company and their agents and servants the right 
to visit any part of the Emperor's dominions with their 
ships and merchandise, and buy and sell all sorts of wares 
without the payment of toll or tax of any kind. 4 A spe- 
cial clause authorized the Company to employ "brokers, 
shippers, packers, weighers, measurers, wagoners, and all 
other meet and necessary laborers for to serve them in 
their feat of merchandises. ' ' 5 These employees they may 
put under oath "to serve them truly," punish or dismiss 

iHakluyt, II, 272. 

2 Ibid., II, 280. 

3 Ibid., Ill, 297 ff. 
Ubid., Ill, 299. 

5 Ibid., Ill, 300. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 75 

for poor service, and replace "without disturbance . . . 
from us, our successors, or any justices, officers, ministers 
or subjects whatever." 6 

The grant further specified definite and extensive rights 
of jurisdiction which the Company was to enjoy. The 
Company's factor was given "full power to rule and gov- 
ern all Englishmen that have had or shall have access to 
these dominions. ' ' 6 This grant of jurisdiction was evi- 
dently intended to apply equally to those who had no con- 
nection with the Company and to the Company's own 
members or employees. The article goes on to specify that 
this grant includes the right to make rules and ordinances 
and to punish offenders by fines and imprisonments. 7 
Russian officials were to aid in enforcing obedience to the 
factor and, on his request, were to put at his disposal 
1 1 prisons and instruments for punishment. ' ' 7 We find in 
these governmental provisions the parallel and complement 
of the rights of jurisdiction granted by the English gov- 
ernment in its first charter to the Company. 

Besides these grants of trading privilege and rights of 
government the document contains a number of specific 
promises of protection by the Russian government. In 
difficulties arising between Englishmen and Russian sub- 
jects speedy justice is promised. 8 Merchants' goods are 
not to be seized for offenses committed by their servants. 9 
No Englishman is to be arrested for debt if he can fur- 
nish surety, nor before the factor is asked whether he will 
be surety for the debtor. 9 Condign punishment is to be 
administered to any person who kills or wounds an Eng- 
lish merchant. 9 The Czar will do what he can to secure 
reparation in cases of piracy against English ships. 9 The 
dictation and foresight of the Company itself is quite evi- 

e Hakluyt, II, 300. 
TlUd., II, 301. 
alMd., II, 300. 
9 Ibid., II, 302. 



76 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

dent in this list of privileges intended to cover all possi- 
ble vicissitudes or calamities. 

The grant of 1555, then, contained three groups of privi- 
leges : the right to trade in any part of Russia and to em- 
ploy persons necessary for the carrying on of this trade; 
the right to govern all Englishmen in Russia whether of 
the Company or not. and the assistance of Russian offi- 
cials in the enforcement of this right; a group of special 
grants of privilege and protection. It is worthy of note 
that there is no grant of any monopoly. This first trad- 
ing privilege did not specifically exclude from a share in 
the Company's privileges the merchants of other coun- 
tries. 

In 1558 the capture of Narva, by giving to Russia a port 
on the Baltic, opened to the Company a new route to the 
Czar's dominions. We have in another place considered 
the effect of this acquisition on the Company's charter 
rights and have reached the conclusion that the charter of 
1555 of its own force extended to any lands that the Czar 
might acquire subsequent to the date of that grant and 
lying north of London. 10 Similarly on the Russian side 
any extension of the Czar's territory involved an exten- 
sion of the sphere of the Company's activity under Rus- 
sian protection. Nevertheless Narva constituted a source 
of trouble to the Company, the attempts of Englishmen 
not of the Company to establish a trade there leading to 
vigorous complaints to the Privy Council. The second 
charter in 1566, as we have seen, attempted to settle the 
difficulty by specific mention of Narva in the grant. 11 

One of the purposes of Jenkinson's mission to Russia, in 
1566 was to secure for the Company the exclusive right 
to the White Sea trade,, "And that no other straungers 
may be admytted or lycencyd to land or trade that 

io Supra, p. 49. 
n Supra, p. 50. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 77 

waye. ' ' 12 Jenkinson was successful, securing from the 
Czar a second set of privileges for the Company under 
date of September 22, 1567. The most important addi- 
tional privilege over the grant of 1555 was this definite 
closing of the northern coasts to all vessels except those 
of the Company. This was the first grant by Russia of 
a definite monopoly. "We for our sisters sake Elizabeth 
have granted, that none besides sir William Garrard and 
his company, out of what kingdome so ever it be, England 
or other, shall not come in trade of merchandise nor other- 
wise to Colmogro, nor to the river Ob, nor within Ward- 
house, 13 . . . nor to any mouth of the river Dwina, 
nor to any part of the North countrey of our coast. ' ' 14 
The penalty for infringement of this restriction is con- 
fiscation and forfeiture of "the people and goods, ship or 
ships" to the Czar. 14 

The grant contains a restatement of the Company's right 
to trade free of custom in all parts of the Czar's domin- 
ions. 15 As in the case of the second charter here also we 
find specific mention of Narva, evidently with the purpose 
of leaving no doubt of its inclusion in the grant. The 
right of the Company to pass to the lands beyond the Cas- 
pian by way of Astrakhan is also definitely granted. 16 
Except for the "north parts," however, there is no grant 
of any monopoly or exclusive privilege. 

In return for this extension of privilege it is required 
in the grant of 1567 that all goods ' ' needful or necessary ' ' 
brought by the Company to Russia shall, before being 
placed on sale, be examined and selection made of such 

12 Tolstoy, p. 25. Anthony Jenkinsons Instructions sent by the 
merchants adventurers into Russia to the Emperor there. 

is The English Charter of 1566 had explicitly opened Wardhouse 
to all Englishmen. Hakluyt, III, 89. Colmogro is the modern 
Kholmogory. 

14 Hakluyt, III, 97. 

15/61U, III, 93-94. 

izlbid., Ill, 94. 



78 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

as "shalbe needfull for our treasury/' the rest being de- 
livered back to the Company to sell and barter at their 
pleasure. The Company is " to sell none of the fine wares 
before they be seene by our chancellers, except sorting 
clothes, and other wares not meet for our treasury. " 
Another interesting phase of the Company's relation to 
the Russian government is seen in the provision that the 
Company's agents shall, at the request of the Russian 
Chancellor, take with them "treasure out of our treasury" 
and " sell and barter it for wares meet for our treasury, 
and bring it to our treasury." They are forbidden, 
however, to handle "other mens wares to barter or sell 
with them." In other words the Russian government 
was to have first choice of the Company's goods for its 
own use and reserved the right to employ the Company as 
its own commercial agent. 

Other provisions of the privilege grant the Company the 
right to retain its house in Moscow without payment, and 
to set up houses at their own charges at Vologda and Khol- 
mogory "or in any other place where they can chuse for 
themselves any good harbour. " 17 At their Moscow house 
they are licensed to keep "one Russe porter or two," at 
their other houses "two or three," who shall not, how- 
ever, buy or sell for the Company. 17 This provision is in 
line with the further restriction that the Company may 
not employ Russians "to buy or sell for them their 
wares. ' ' 18 Lawsuits that may arise between the mer- 
chants and Russian subjects are to be judged by royal 
officials without the charge of any fee ; 19 " and when they 
cannot be judged by law, they then shalbe tried by lots, 
and whose lot is first taken out, he shall have the right. ' ' 20 

"Hakluyt, III, 96. 
is Ibid., Ill, 95. 

19 Ibid., Ill, 97. 

20 Ibid., Ill, 96-97. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 79 

The grant of 1567, notwithstanding several new restric- 
tions not included in the previous grant, constituted on 
the whole an extension of the Company's trading privi- 
leges. Unfortunately the settlement was of short dura- 
tion. Jenkinson's failure to return to Russia with a re- 
ply from Elizabeth to Ivan's secret message concerning an 
alliance between the two countries, together with the dis- 
loyal activities of the Company's agents at Narva, was re- 
sponsible for a decided change in the Czar's attitude to- 
ward the Company. Christopher Bennet, Thomas Glover 
and certain other servants of the Company shortly after 
the conclusion of Jenkinson's successful mission seem to 
have entered into a plot to defraud the Company of the 
goods in their charge and secure special privileges from 
the Emperor for themselves. 21 They persuaded him that 
the Company was responsible for Jenkinson's failure to 
return to Russia, in that they had brought him "in dis- 
pleasure with the Queen only because he went about to 
further the Emperor's matters." 22 The plot was success- 
ful, the conspirators receiving a special privilege from the 
Czar. 23 They adopted a "mark of Company" in imita- 
tion of that of the Muscovy Company and proceeded to 
trade with the Company's goods on their own account. 24 
This was the situation, when, in 1568, Randolph was sent 
to Russia as special ambassador accompanied by two agents 
who had been deputed by the Company to recover its 
goods out of its factors' hands and to act with Randolph 
to secure the annullment of the privilege granted to Ben- 
net and Glover. 25 The success of Randolph's mission 26 
and his return to England in 1569 accompanied by an 

2i Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1569-1571, p. 90. 
22Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 519. 

23 Tolstoy, p. 74. 

24 Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 519. 

25 Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1569-1571, p. 90. 
26Hakluyt, III, 118. 



80 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

ambassador from Ivan, Andreas Saviena, has already been 
mentioned. The important point in the present connec- 
tion is the grant of privileges secured for the Company 
by Randolph before his departure from Russia. 

The privileges thus granted in 1569 were made up of 
thirty-four separate articles. The provisions of the grant 
secured by Jenkinson in 1567 are practically repeated but 
with important extensions. The monopoly of the trade 
to the northern coast is confirmed. 27 This time, more- 
over, forfeitures that result from the capture of inter- 
lopers instead of going to the Czar alone are to be shared 
by the Czar and the Company, a provision similar to that 
in the Company's charter. A more important extension 
of privilege, however, is to be found in the grant to the 
Company of the exclusive enjoyment of the overland route 
to Persia. The Persian trade like that of the northern 
coasts is granted to the Company as a monopoly right. 27 

The privileges of 1569 once more grant the right to 
trade freely without payment of custom in all parts of 
Russia. 28 Without definite knowledge of the privileges 
enjoyed by other nations in Russia at this time it is im- 
possible to say to what extent this right was monopolistic. 
Camden's statement that "the Merchants of other Nations 
might not go a mile beyond the City of Moscow ' ' 29 would 
make this grant almost the equivalent of a monopoly. In 
regard to Narva, however, a special provision declares that 
all strangers are permitted to trade "to our towne of 
Narve, Ivanogorod, & other our towns of Liefland, as they 
have done bef oretime. " 30 It would seem that only to Eng- 
lishmen who were not members of the Company was the 
trade with Narva closed. 31 

27Hakluyt, III, 117. 

28lUd., Ill, 109, 110. 

29 Camden, p. 124. The statement is hardly consistent with the 
activities of Venetian and Dutch merchants of which we have 
evidence shortly after this time. 

soHakluyt, III, 118. 3i Ibid., Ill, 117. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 8il 

The provisions that the Russian government is to have 
the right to select for its own use those of the Company's 
wares that it needs before they may be placed on sale, and 
that the Company is to act in the capacity of agent for 
the Czar are repeated in the grant of 1569. In fact the 
provision goes so far this time as to state that "when we 
shall sende any adventure into England then our Chaun- 
cellour to give them a yeeres warning, that their ships 
may be provided thereafter, that by taking in of our wares, 
they leave not their owne behind them. ' ' 32 The Company 
was also required to "take our adventure yeerely when 
they goe into Persia. ' ' 33 

The houses of the Company were transferred by this 
same document to the jurisdiction of the Oprichnina, 34 
i.e., the direct control of the Czar's personal government. 
The inclusion of the Company's affairs in this depart- 
ment freed its members from various forms of local con- 
trol and interference; it is definitely ordered that "none 
of our Captaines, or authorized people, or officers in any 
other our townes, give judgement upon the said English 
Merchants for any thing. ' ' 35 

Among the new privileges included in the grant of 1569 
are the right to have money coined at Moscow, Novgorod 
and Plesko (Pskoff), "without custome, allowing for 
coales, and other necessaries with the workemanship " ; 36 
the right to search for iron mines at Wichida (Vychegda), 
setting up houses for the working of the metal and enjoy- 
ing the use of the woods "five or sixe miles compasse 
about the sayd houses, to the making of the sayd iron " ; 3T 
the grant of ground in Vologda to build a house ; 37 and 

32Hakluyt, III, 110. 

wlbid., Ill, 111. 

s* Ibid., Ill, 113. 

M Ibid., Ill, 114. 

aelbid., Ill, 116. . 

si Ibid., Ill, 113. 



82 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

a definite statement of the right of the English in Rus- 
sia to keep their own law and faith. 38 Section 33 pro- 
vides for the revocation of the privileges which the Czar 
had granted to Bennet, Glover and their companions. 38 

The grant of 1569' represents an advance over that of 
1567 fully as great as the advance of the latter over the 
grant of 1555. The monopoly of the White Sea trade had 
been confirmed and to it had been added the monopoly of 
the overland trade with Persia. The Company's affairs 
were placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the Czar. 
The dangerous competition caused by Englishmen trading 
to Narva on their own account was prohibited. Glover, 
the chief cause of the recent trouble, was handed over to 
Randolph and brought back to England by him to answer 
for his actions before the Company. 39 

Unfortunately the settlement of 1569 was almost as 
short-lived as that of 1567. This time the difficulties that 
arose were even more serious. Saviena's failure to secure 
the absolute committal of Elizabeth to all Ivan's proposi- 
tions and his return to Russia without Jenkinson seem to 
have angered the Czar beyond measure. He withdrew the 
merchants' privileges and seized their wares. Jenkinson 
writing to Burghley in 1571 from Kholmogory says, "The 
late ambassador (Saviena) at his return slanderously re- 
ported to his lord that he was evil entertained and used 
in England, which, with the spiteful practices of such 
abjects and runagates of the English nation as are here, 
has caused him not only to take away their privileges 
from the company, but also forbidden them traffic through- 
out his dominions, and what he has taken from them he has 
given the companies of other nations. ' ' 40 Thirteen ships 
of the Company which had expected to sail from Narva 

38Hakluyt, III, 118. 
39Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1569-1571, p. 91. 
40 Ibid., p. 504. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 83 

in 1570 laden with Russian wares could only find goods 
enough to load half of them; in a letter to the Emperor 
the Company's agents complain, "And the cause is, we 
have this winter (by your majesties order) bene kept 
from trafiquing to the companies great losse." 41 

In 1571 Anthony Jenkinson was sent to Russia once 
more to straighten out these difficulties and secure the 
restoration of the privileges granted to Randolph. There 
was a long delay before he was admitted to the Czar's 
presence. In the course of the interview that finally took 
place, a full account of which was sent by Jenkinson to 
the Company, the Czar's anger seems to have been en- 
tirely allayed. He refused, however, to give Jenkinson 
an immediate answer to his requests. Later the ambas- 
sador presented his demands in the form of sixteen arti- 
cles to which separate replies were made by the Russian 
government. To article 3, which contained a petition to 
the Emperor to take the Company into his favor again 
"and to restore them to their former privileges and lib- 
erties, for free traffike in, and through, and out of al his 
Majesties dominions, in as ample manner as aforetime," 42 
the Emperor gave answer "that his great goodnes and 
favour againe unto the merchants shall be restored, and 
the same to be knowen by his gratious letters of privi- 
lege now againe granted. ' ' 43 Article 4 asked for repara- 
tion for the Company's losses and injuries during the 
time of the Czar 's displeasure ; 44 in reply the merchants 
were recommended to make formal complaint to the Sec- 
retary and were assured that they would receive prompt 
justice. 45 Article 6, 46 requesting payment to the Company 

4iHakluyt, III, 169. 
42 Ibid., Ill, 180. 
*3 Ibid., Ill, 189. 

44 Ibid., Ill, 180. 

45 Ibid., Til, 189. 
*e Ibid., Ill, 181. 



84 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

for goods taken into the royal treasury, was answered with 
the statement that the accounts would be looked into and 
some settlement made: "such as is due, & found meete to 
be paid, shall be paid forthwith." 47 Article 7 complains 
that the return of Ducket and Bannister from beyond the 
Caspian had been prevented by the hostile attitude of the 
officials of Astrakhan ; 48 the Czar promised to send com- 
mands at once to have these agents with their Company 
and goods out of Persia safely conducted up the Volga 
out of danger of enemies. 49 Article 11 cited the loss suf- 
fered by the Company through the burning of Moscow and 
requested the Czar "to give the said company so much as 
shal seeme good unto his Majestie towards their said 
losses " ; 50 to which answer was given that restitution 
would not be made, "for that it was Gods doing, and not 
the Emperours. ' ' 51 

On the whole, while Jenkinson succeeded in securing a 
renewal of the Company's privileges, the tone of the re- 
plies to many of his requests indicate a decided lessening 
of friendliness on the part of the Eussian government. 
This is further borne out by the fact that Jenkinson was 
compelled to set sail from Kussia without having received 
a copy of the granted privileges. 52 He carried a letter to 
Elizabeth in which Ivan says, "And for your sake we 
have granted to your merchants and ordered them in all 
our realms to trade free and have given order to let them 
pass out of our dominions into any other dominions ac- 
cording to their wish without any lett or hinderance. And 
we have ordered for your sake to give them a charter of 
privileges such as is convenient. ' ' 53 

47 Hakluyt, III, 190. 

48 Ibid., Ill, 181. 
^Ibid., Ill, 190. 
so ibid., Ill, 183. 
5i Ibid., Ill, 190. 
62 Ibid., Ill, 194. 

83 Tolstoy, p. 147. Czar John to Q. Elizabeth. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 86 

From 1572 until his death in 1576 Daniel Sylvester was 
the chief go-between for the two governments, frequently 
carrying diplomatic messages bearing upon the Company's 
privileges. In 1574 Ivan brought up once more the ques- 
tion of the offensive and defensive alliance. A long let- 
ter under date of August 20 contains the significant sen- 
tence, "And if you wish for more amity and friendship 
from us, ponder upon that subject and do that business, 
by which you may increase our amity towards you. ' ' 54 

Some two years later the Czar complained bitterly to Syl- 
vester of the Queen's haughtiness and scrupulous answers; 
he also on this occasion gave expression to his old griev- 
ance that "affayres of merchaunts ar preferred and made 
of more emportance than the affayres of ours. ' ' 55 This 
was followed by a definite threat: " And how ample our 
goodnes hathe bene and ys towards them ys aparaunte by 
the many-foulde lybertyes whearwith we have graced 
them ... Of all the which with the rest of all their 
lybertyes they ar to be restrayned yf we fynde not further 
lyberalyte then this from our systar. And will traun- 
porte the same trade vnto the Veneatianes and Gar- 
maynes . . . ; wherein wee will yett staye vntill we 
shall here from our sister towchinge her determynation 
therin : either a liberall graunte or flatt denyall. ' ' 55 Eliza- 
beth 's reply, carried by Sylvester, was destined never to 
reach the Czar. At Kholmogory the bearer was struck by 
lightning, "whereat the Emperour was much amassed 
when he heard of it, saieng ' Gods will be donn ! ' " 56 

The instructions given to Bowes at the time of his em- 
bassy in 1583 clearly indicate that the Company's privi- 
leges at that period were again in serious danger. Pis- 

54 Tolstoy, p. 158. Czar John to Q. Elizabeth,. 

65 Ibid., p. 184. A note of speche with th' emperour of Rowsia 
vsed vnto me Daniuell Siluester in his towne of Muscouia the 29 of 
January 1576. 

66 Horsey, p. 184. 



86 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 






semsky had intimated to Elizabeth that the closing of the 
northern coasts to all merchants except those of the Eng- 
lish Company constituted a rather large grant. When we 
remember that Narva was definitely lost to Russia in 1581, 
thus closing once more after a period of twenty-three years 
the Baltic road to Russia, the exclusion of all nations but 
England from the White Sea was indeed a policy of ques- 
tionable wisdom on the part of the Russian government. 
The only argument advanced in Bowes' instructions for 
the continuance of this privilege is that "we request noth- 
ing therein but that he hath allready graunted to the said 
company, in respect of the great charges ther (sic) haue 
bene at in finding out that trade. ' ' 57 English privileges 
moreover were being seriously threatened by the presence 
in Russia of large numbers of Dutch merchants "who had 
intruded themselves to trade into those countries" 58 and 
who had by questionable means won several powerful no- 
bles to their cause. Bowes in his account of his mission 
brings charges against these Dutch traders who "besides 
dayly gifts that they bestowed upon them all, they took so 
much money of theirs at interest at five and twenty upon 
the hundred, as they payd to some one of them five thou- 
sand marks yeerely for the use of his money, and the 
English merchants at that time had not one friend in 
Court." 59 

In spite of the difficult prospect Bowes succeeded in se- 
curing from Ivan a full ratification of the old exclusive 
grant. Payment of debts due to the merchants was prom- 
ised, as well as the restoration of certain sums which had 

57 Tolstoy, p. 203. Copie of instructions giuen to Sir Jerome 
Boices. 

58 In May, 1582, complaint was made in a memorial to the Queen 
that custom had been collected in Russia in violation of the Com- 
pany's privilege and that "a Dutche merchant, against the priui- 
ledges graunted to her subiects, is permitted to vse trade to their 
great hindrance in the parts priuiledged." Tolstoy, p. 194. 

59 Hakluyt, III, 317. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 87 

been exacted in violation of their privilege. 60 The negotia- 
tions thus auspiciously begun, however, were destined to 
come to nothing. In the words of the ambassador, "All 
these were granted, . . . the olde privilege ratified, 
newly written, signed and sealed, and was to be delivered 
to the ambassadour at his next comming to Court, before 
when the Emperor fell sicke of a surf et, and so died. ' ' 60 

The death of Ivan the Terrible is an event of great sig- 
nificance in the history of the Muscovy Company. In spite 
of a brief and temporary withdrawal of privileges and fre- 
quent threats to take from the Company its exclusive trad- 
ing rights the first thirty years of the Company's history, 
i.e., from the first voyage to Ivan's death, show a fairly con- 
sistent policy of friendship and protection on the part of 
the Russian government. The right to trade all over Russia 
without payment of duties had been granted in 1555; the 
monopoly of the trade with the northern coasts had been 
granted in 1567 ; the monopoly of the overland trade with 
Persia had been granted in 1569. The mission of Bowes 
shows that in the very last year of Ivan's life he still ad- 
hered to the policy of friendship for England and exclusive 
privilege for the English Company. 

Ivan's death dealt the prosperity of the Company a blow 
from which it never fully recovered. The blow fell, more- 
over, at the period when the interest of English adventur- 
ers was turning definitely toward the west. In the very 
year of the Czar's death appeared Hakluyt's " Discourse 
on Western Planting. ' ' In this work the poor condition of 
Russian trade is advanced as an argument for the dis- 
covery of new fields for commercial enterprise in America. 
Hakluyt summarizes the Russian situation as follows: 
"Our trade into Muscovye . . . stoode them in four- 
score thousande poundes before they broughte it to any 
goodd passe. And nowe after longe hope of gayne, the 

eo Hakluyt, III, 325. 



88 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Hollanders, as also the men of Diepe, are entred into their 
trade by the Emperours permission; yea, whereas at the 
firste our men paid no custome, of late yeres, contrarie to 
their firste priviledge, they have bene urged to pay yt. 
Also the chardges of bringinge the Emperours embassador 
hither, and mayneteyninge him here, and the settinge 
furthe of her Majesties embassador thither with presentes 
to the Emperour, lyenge all upon the poore marchantes 
neckes, is no easie burden unto their shoulders. . . . 
And nowe the Emperour of Russia beinge late deade, yt 
is greately feared that the voyadge wilbe utterly over- 
throwen, or els become not worthe the contynuance. ' ' 61 
The immediate result of the death of Ivan was the com- 
plete cessation of the negotiations which Sir Jerome Bowes 
had almost brought to such a satisfactory termination. 
It seems that Bowes had made many enemies among the 
dignitaries of Ivan's court. Now their turn had come. 
The ambassador was imprisoned in his own house for a 
period of nine weeks "and was so straightly guarded and 
badly used by those that attended him, as he dayly sus- 
pected some further mischief e to have followed. " 62 At last 
he was brought to the council chamber and there notified 
by the Chancellor "that this Emperour would not treat of 
further amity with the Queene his mistresse. ' ' 62 Boris, 
whose influence was not yet strong enough to allow him to 
declare himself openly, gave the ambassador to understand 
that he was friendly to the English and would later do what 
he could to remove these differences. 63 Bowes was sent to 
St. Nicholas and there set sail for England after having 

si Hakluyt's "Discourse on Western Planting," in Collections of 
the Maine Historical Society, second series, Vol. II, p. 16. Cf. 
Carlile's statement of the same tenor in Hakluyt, VIII, pp. 134 fF. 

62 Hakluyt, III, 326. Ivan was succeeded by his son Feodor, a 
weak-minded prince, during whose reign (1584-1598) actual power 
was in the hands of his brother-in-law, Boris Godounof. In 1598 
Boris succeeded to the throne. 

63/6^., Ill, 327. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 89 

issued an unsuccessful call upon all the English merchants 
to accompany him. 64 The agent at Kholmogory wrote to the 
Company, "Wolde he had never come here . . . The 
Lorde sende vs all his grace. ' ' 65 

During the next few years the most prominent figure in 
the affairs of the Company was Jerome Horsey. He has 
left us an account of the embassy of Bowes in which he 
takes credit to himself for the ambassador 's escape with his 
life. 66 In September, 1585, Horsey carried a letter from 
Czar Peodor to Elizabeth. 67 This letter indicates that the 
Company had lost the favor of the Russian government. 
The chief complaints were that they had sold goods at re- 
tail in violation of their privileges and had also handled 
"other straungers comodities vnder color of their owne." 
Renewal of the old privilege was absolutely refused. The 
only special rights they were to enjoy were the payment of 
half custom and possession of their own houses. 68 

Horsey 's influence is clearly indicated by his success in 
securing a new grant of privilege for the Company within 
a year of the Czar's written refusal and in spite of the 
strong opposition of the Chancellor. For this grant of 
1586 he was chiefly indebted to the friendship of Boris 
Godounof. Horsey 's own account, however, grossly exag- 
gerates the importance of the new grant. His absurd boast 
that he obtained for the Company "those privileges which 
in twentie yeeres before would not be granted " 69 is abso- 
lutely disproved by a careful reading of the grant itself, 
which was not nearly so generous as those previously granted 
by Ivan IV. The only important concession was the restora- 
tion of the right to trade all over the Czar's dominions 

«4Hakluyt, HI, 328. 

65 Tolstoy, p. 228. 

6« Horsey, p. 205. 

w Ibid., p. 210. 

68 This letter is given in full in Tolstoy, pp. 261-269. 

eoHakluyt, III, 346. 



90 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

without the payment of duties. 70 The Company is pro- 
hibited from engaging in retail trade, from handling "any 
other mens goods but their owne, ' ' 71 from sending their 
servants to England overland without the Emperor's 
knowledge, 72 and from employing Russian agents to sell 
their goods. 73 The jurisdiction of the Treasurer of State 
and the Secretary of Embassies is to extend to all cases be- 
tween the Company and Russian subjects. 74 No monopoly 
right is mentioned, either of the White Sea trade or of the 
overland route to Persia. 75 

In spite of Horsey 's success in securing the new privi- 
lege the Company had reason to suspect his honesty in the 
handling of its affairs. The embassy of Giles Fletcher in 
1588 was partly for the purpose of treating with the new 
Emperor about the matter of a new alliance, partly "for 
the reestablishing and reducing into order the decaied trade 
of our Englishmen there. ' ' 76 Fletcher on his arrival in 
Russia found the Company in disfavor and their privilege 
of trade "of no account. ' ' 77 Moreover a league between 
Russia, Spain and the Pope was in contemplation, a circum- 
stance which together with a false report of the success of 

ToHakluyt, III, 348-349. 
iiIMd., Ill, 349. 
" Ibid., Ill, 352. 
™iUd., Ill, 349. 
^Ibid., Ill, 353. 

75 In spite of the apparent definiteness of the privilege secured 
by Horsey and the inclusion of the grant in Hakluyt there is some 
reason to doubt its authenticity. The Company in presenting com- 
plaints against Horsey a few years later said among other things, 
"And whereas he, by vertue of her Majesties letters, obteyned and 
brought over with him, two years since, a graunt of privilidge for the 
Companie, free of all custome, which privilige is called in againe, 
and, as yt is said by her Majesties late ambassador ( Fletcher ) , was 
constantlie affirmed by Andrea Shalcan to be either never graunt ed 
by the Emperour, or unorderlie gotten out under seale . . ." — 
Russia at the Close of the Sixteenth Century, appendix III, p. 333. 

76 Hakluyt, III, 353. 

77 Russia at the Close of the Sixteenth Century, appendix IV, p. 
349. Fletcher's account of his embassy. 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 91 

the Spanish Armada rendered the task of the English am- 
bassador doubly difficult. However, Fletcher soon received 
news of the English victory through letters from Drake 
which the ambassador "cawsed to bee translated into the 
Russ toongue togeather with your Highnes oration made 
to the armie in Essex/' whereupon "all this conceipt of a 
Spanish league vanished away. ' ' 78 

Fletcher succeeded in overcoming the initial difficulties 
and managed to secure from the Emperor a new grant. 
A claim on the Company to the amount of 23.503 marks 
was reduced to 7,800 marks. 79 The customs exacted the 
year before amounting to 1840 marks were remitted. 79 
The Company is not to be held responsible for the actions 
of persons save those whose names have been registered 
by the agent in the office of the Treasury. 80 Hereafter the 
Company is not to be under the office of the Chancellor (con- 
sistently their enemy) "but pertein to the office of the 
Treasurie, so that they may appeal to the Lord Boris Godo- 
nove if they thinck they have wrong. ' ' 81 On the impor- 
tant question of the payment of customs all that Fletcher 
could secure was that " half -coustoom is claimed hear- 
after. ' ' 81 Finally, the monopoly of the route to Persia is 
regranted, 81 — rather an empty privilege in view of the total 
discontinuance of the overland trade with that country. 

In the letters that passed between Boris Godounof and 
Lord Burghley during the next few years the Russian min- 

78 Russia at the Close of the Sixteenth Century, pp. 346-347. 

wibid., p. 349. 

so Ibid., p. 350. 

si Russia at the Close of the Sixteenth Century, appendix IV, p. 
350. The privilege is printed in full in Hakluyt, III, pp. 353-356. 
On the question of duties this document is silent. Just when entire 
freedom from customs was restored it is difficult to say, but a letter 
from Feodor to Elizabeth in 1591 says, ". . . we have been 
gratyous to your marchaunts and geoven theyme libertie to trade 
into our kingdome withoute payinge any custome." — Russia at the 
Close of the Sixteenth Century, introd. p. cxvii. 



92 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

ister gives repeated expression of his good will to the Eng- 
lish merchants. A new grant of privilege dated 7104 
(i.e., 1596) contains the significant statement that it was 
granted by "our princely Majestie at the request of our 
brother in lawe Boris Feodorowich Godenova our serv- 
ant. ' ' 82 This lengthy document does not differ in any im- 
portant feature from the previous grant to Fletcher ex- 
cept that freedom from all payment of customs is this time 
specifically included, 83 and that cases between English mer- 
chants are to be heard and determined by the Chancellor. 84 
The vigorous and exclusive manner in which officials are 
called upon to follow to the letter the requirements of the 
grant would seem to indicate that previous grants had not 
been strictly enforced. The document closes with the strik- 
ing sentence, ' ' And whosoever shall withstand & not regard 
these our gracious letters shalbe in our high displeasure, 
and shal incurre the losse of his life. ' ' 85 

Two years after this grant Czar Feodor died (1598) and 
his brother-in-law Boris G-odounof , ' ' Protector of the Eng- 
lish, ' ' succeeded to the throne. This involved no change of 
policy toward the English merchants, as Boris had prac- 
tically been in control of affairs during most of the reign 
of his predecessor. In 1600 the embassy of Gregory Mikou- 
leve to Elizabeth brought the century to a close with a con- 
firmation of the friendship established between the two 
nations in 1554. Despite repeated assurances of friend- 
ship, however, there is no indication of any renewal of the 
Company's monopoly of the White Sea trade after the 
death of Ivan the Terrible. 

s2Hakluyt, III, 439. 
83 Ibid., Ill, 440. 
s* Ibid., Ill, 444. 
85 Ibid., Ill, 445. 



CHAPTER V 

TRADE AND EXPLORATION 

A. The Nature and Extent of the Company's Trade. 

The first agents sent by the Company to reside in Russia 
were directed to "diligently learne and observe all kinde 
of wares, as wel naturals as forrein, that be beneficiall for 
this Realme, to be sold for the benefit of the company, and 
what kinde of our commodities and other things of these 
West partes bee most vendible in those Realms with profite, 
giving a perfect advise of all such things requisite. " x In 
other words a systematic investigation of what sort of im- 
port and export trade might with most advantage be en- 
tered upon was undertaken by the Company in the very 
year of its incorporation. On September 11, 1555, the 
agents arrived at Vologda. 2 Two months later Killing- 
worth sent to the Company a detailed account of his experi- 
ences and observations. 3 It was of course impossible in 
such a short time to have reached any final conclusions as 
to the most advantageous sorts of commerce to develop. 
Killingworth takes the ground that the Company's efforts 
should be directed toward securing general privileges; ex- 
periment is the only means of ascertaining what trades will 
pay. "And thus may we continue three or foure yeeres, 
and in this space we shall know the countrey and the mar- 
chants, and which way to save our selves best, and where to 
plant our houses, and where to seeke for wares. ' ' 4 The 
subsequent correspondence between the Company and its 
agents furnishes a model of business-like co-operation. 

iHakluyt, II, 284. 
2 Ibid., II, 291. 
*IUd., II, 291 fi. 
*Ibid. } II, 296. 



94 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Of the articles imported by the Muscovy Company the 
most important was without question cordage. To avoid 
the heavy charges involved in the transportation of the raw 
hemp the Company as early as 1557 arranged for the es- 
tablishment of the rope industry in Russia. Seven rope- 
makers were sent out in that year and the agents instructed 
to arrange a place for them at Kholmogory or Vologda, 5 to 
assign an overseer "to see the deliverie of the stuff e un- 
wrought, as also to take charge of the stuffe wrought, & to 
foresee that neither the yarne be burnt in tarring, nor the 
hempe rotted in the watering. ' ' 6 Provision was to be 
made for the training of other workmen in this industry 
to carry it on when the English workmen should return 
home. The letter sums up the importance of the trade 
in cordage in the clause, "for we esteeme it a principal 
commodities and that the Counsel of England doth well 
allowe. ' ' e 

"Traine oyle," i.e., sperm oil, was also from the first 
an important import. In fact oil, tallow, wax, flax and 
cordage constituted by far the greatest part of the goods 
carried in the Company's ships from Russia to England. 
In 1557 the agents were definitely directed to see that the 
"chief est lading ... be principally in wexe, flaxe, 
tallow and traine oyle, ' ' the letter continuing ' ' for wee doe 
purpose to ground our selves chiefly upon these commodi- 
ties, as wexe, cables and ropes, traine oyle, flaxe and some 
linen yarne. 7 In 1560 the Company wrote, "The wares 
that we would have you provide against the coming of the 
shippes are, Waxe, Tallowe, trayne Oyles, Flaxe, Cables 
and Ropes, and Furres, such as we have written to you for 
in our last letters by the shippes. ' ' 8 That in the last dec- 

s The agents finally decided upon Kholmogory. Hakluyt, II, 393. 
e Hakluyt, II, 381. 
7 Ibid., II, 382. 
a Ibid., II, 403. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 95 

ade of the century these were still the chief articles brought 
to England by the Company is indicated by a letter writ- 
ten in 1595 by Francis Cherry, an agent of the Company, 
in which he says, "There is yearly brought into the realm, 
and that without any contradiction of any prince or poten- 
tate, tallow, wax, flax, train oils, buff hides, cow hides, cord- 
age and hemp, and this present last year was there re- 
turned 9000£ worth of cordage." 9 

One would expect the trade in furs to have furnished one 
of the Company's most lucrative sources of profit. The 
discouraging attitude of the government, however, pre- 
vented the free development of this branch of the Com- 
pany's trade. In 1557 a "Skinner" was sent "to viewe 
and see such f urres as you shall cheape or buye. ' ' 10 The 
Company warned the agents, however, that it desired "no 
great plentie, ' ' 1X exception being made only in the case 
of "marterns" and "minnivers," "otherwise called Letis 
and Mynkes. ' ' 10 The direction adds, ' ' As for Sables and 
other rich Furres, they bee not every mans money: there- 
fore you may send the fewer, using partly the discretion of 
the skinner in that behalfe." 10 A few years later (1560) 
the agents received word to curtail still further the expor- 
tation of furs from Russia : ' ' for now there is a Proclama- 
tion made that no furres shall be worne here, but such as 
the like is growing here within this our Realme. ' ' 12 An- 
other letter of the same year says, "As for Allard the 
skinner, if you thinke good, he may come home in these 
shippes. " 13 A tone of regretful reminiscence is discern- 
ible in Camden's reference to "rich Furrs of Sables, Lu- 
serns, and others, which at that time and in former Ages 

» Hatfield House MSS. V, 462-3. 
loHakluyt, II, 382. 
ii Ibid., II, 381. 
12 ibid., II, 403. 
is Ibid., II, 409. 



96 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

were in great request amongst the English, both for their 
Ornament and Wholesomness. ' ' 14 

The heavy charges which we have already mentioned as 
the cause of the discontinuance of the importation of raw 
hemp from Russia had a similar effect in the case of masts, 
tar and feathers, — "they would not beare the charges 
. . . considering our deere f raight. ' ' 15 This was not 
true of the less bulky and more valuable silks and spices 
which came to be included in the Company's cargoes after 
the establishment by Anthony Jenkinson of the overland 
route to Persia, a temporary phase of the Company's trad- 
ing activity which was not destined to fulfill the promise 
of its early years. 

As cordage was the Muscovy Company's chief article of 
import so English cloth constituted the chief staple of its 
export trade. Russia presented a new market for this 
greatest of English commodities. The Company's corre- 
spondence which has come down to us is much less explicit 
and detailed on the question of export ations from England 
than on that of importations from Russia. It is possible 
that there was less need for elaborate directions on that 
side of the question, since the problem of what English 
wares could be best disposed of in Russia presented fewer 
difficulties than the question of what Russian products 
would be most profitable to import. Suffice it to say that 
the chief part of the outgoing cargoes was made up of 
cloths of various sorts and colors. There was also some 
pewter exported, 16 and, as we have mentioned in another 
connection, probably large quantities of munitions of 
war. 17 

In the absence of the Company's records the question of 
the extent of its trade and the amount of its profits pre- 

i* Camden, p. 102. 

is Hakluyt, II, 382. 

i6/6id, II, 380. 

17 Supra, p. 59. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 97 

sents numerous and serious difficulties. All that we shall 
attempt in this place is to cite a few scattered references 
from various sources which may be considered as suggestive 
though not in any sense conclusive. 

The number of ships sent out annually by the Company 
may be said to furnish a fair index of the condition of its 
trade. In 1555 two vessels, the Edward Bonaventure and 
the Philip and Mary, were sent out. 18 We have evidence to 
show that in 1556 19 and 1557 20 fleets of four vessels were 
sent out by the Company to the White Sea. That cargoes 
were also sent out in 1558 and 1559 is clearly indicated by 
the fact that the venture of 1560 is referred to as the Com- 
pany's seventh voyage; 21 in that year the fleet consisted of 
three vessels. By 1565 there had been no increase in the 
number of ships engaged in the Russian trade if we can 
judge by the official statement to the Danish ambassador 
that "not past two or three vessels go yearly to Musco- 
vie. " 22 In 1570, however, a fleet of thirteen vessels was 

is Hakluyt, II, 281, 286. 

19 In Nov., 1555, the Edward Bonaventure and the Philip and Mary 
returned to England bringing with them the Bona Speranza and 
the Confidentia (Cal. S. P. Venetian, 1555-1556, p. 240). In May, 
1556, the Searchthrift was sent out from London on a voyage of ex- 
ploration to the Northeast under the command of Stephen Bur- 
rough. Burrough tells us that the Searchthrift set out in com- 
pany with the Edward Bonaventure (Hakluyt, II, 323). The Philip 
and Mary, the Bona Speranza and the Confidentia must also have 
gone to Russia at this time as in the fall of the same year these 
three vessels left Russia with the Edward Bonaventure, the Philip 
and Mary alone surviving this return voyage (Hakluyt, II, 351). 
In 1556, therefore, the Company sent four vessels to Russia ex- 
clusive of the Searchthrift. 

2 <> In 1557 Jenkinson was sent with the Primrose, the John Evan- 
gelist, the Anne and the Trinity. This was the fleet that carried 
Napea back to Russia (Hakluyt, II, 375). 

2i Hakluyt, II, 401. In numbering the voyages the trip of Wil- 
loughby and Chancellor in 1553 is counted as the first, that of 1555 
as the second, and thereafter annually. 

22 Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1564-1565, p. 279. 



98 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

sent by the Company to Narva. 23 The northern route to 
St. Nicholas was by no means given up ; in fact in 1582 a 
fleet of eleven ships was sent out by the Company to the 
White Sea. 24 This increase, however, was not destined to 
be permanent. The loss of Narva to Russia, followed a 
few years later by the death of Ivan the Terrible and the 
loss to the Company of its exclusive privileges in Russia, 
probably explain the poor state of the trade which marked 
the close of the century. Whatever the cause, in 1591 only 
five ships were sent out. 25 Nor is there any indication of 
a revival of the Company's prosperity. 

The wealth of the Company is even more difficult to esti- 
mate than the extent of its trade. Horsey says that in 
1581 the Company's stock in Russia was worth at least 
one hundred thousand marks sterling (66,666f£). 26 
The burning of the Company's warehouse in Moscow was 
said to have involved the loss of ten thousand rubles 
(6000£). 27 Government contracts to the amount of 3000£ 
and 4000£ do not seem to have been unusual. 28 In 1597 
the government's debts to the Company amounted to almost 
14,000£, 29 Fragmentary and isolated items of debit, 
credit, expense or loss, however, give little indication of 
the actual condition of the Company's affairs. Its im- 
poverished state shortly after the close of our period is in- 
dicated by the fact that in the next century the poverty of 
the Muscovy Company had passed into a proverb. In the 
records of the East India Company for 1639 we find this 
significant expression, "For if the debt be not lessened it 

23 Hakluyt, III, 167. 

24 Ibid., Ill, 303. 

25Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 1591-1594, p. 30. 

26 Horsey, p. 184. 

27 Hakluyt, III, 183. The computation here made is on the basis 
of 12 s. to a ruble. Cf. Hakluyt, II, 391. 

28Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 462; Cal. S. P. (Domestic) 
1581-1590, p. 467. 

29 Hatfield House MSS. VII, p. 484. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 99 

will consume the [East India] Company and bring them 
a 'Muscovia reckoning' " ! 30 

B. The Company's Exploring Activities. 

It will be remembered that one of the original purposes 
of this Company had been the discovery of a passage to the 
Indies. 31 While the accidental establishment of a means of 
communication with the northern coasts of Russia unques- 
tionably centered the thought and activity of the Com- 
pany on the development of trade relations with that coun- 
try the original idea was by no means given up. That 
neither the government nor the Company regarded the 
work of the latter as having been completed with the estab- 
lishment of the Russian trade is clearly indicated by the 
charter of 1555, which besides granting a monopoly of this 
trade specifically conferred on the Company the exclusive 
enjoyment of any other trades it might establish to the 
north, northeast or northwest. 32 This provision, evidently 
looking toward the continuance of the Company's original 
plans of exploration, was repeated in the charter of 1566. 33 

As early as 1556 we have record of a serious attempt 
being made by the Company to continue the interrupted 
search for a northeast passage. Stephen Burrough, "mas- 
ter of the Pinnesse called the BearcMhrijt, , ' > was the hero 
of this adventure, of which he has left us a full account. 
Burrough had been master of the Edward Bonaventure 
on its first outward voyage under Chancellor in 1553. 34 

The Searchthrift departed from London on Thursday, 
April 23, 1556. 35 The following Monday Sebastian Cabot 
came aboard at Gravesend and wished the voyagers God- 
speed. 35 In company with the Edward Bonaventure the 

so Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1635-1639, p. 306. 
3i Supra, p. 2 ff. 

32 Hakluyt, II, 316. 

33 Ibid., Ill, 85. 

34 Ibid., II, 213. 
zslbid., II, 322. 



100 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Searchthrift sailed across the North Sea. 36 On May 23 the 
North Cape (so named by Burrough on the first voyage) 
was passed. 37 Soon afterward the Searchthrift separated 
from the Bonaventure which proceeded on its way to the 
White Sea: "at eight of the clocke, we heard a piece of 
ordinance, which was out of the Edward, which bade us 
farewell, and then we shot off another piece, and bade her 
farewell: wee could not one see the other, because of the 
thicke miste. " 38 

The Searchthrift pursued its way alone along the north- 
ern coast of Russian Lapland. A few days after the 
separation from the Edward it put into the safe harbor 
afforded by the mouth of the Kola River. 38 It was not 
until June 22 that the cessation of northerly winds per- 
mitted them to put out to sea again. 39 During this delay 
the explorers noticed a large number of small Russian boats 
coming down the river on their way to Pechora to fish 
for morse and salmon. "And amongst the rest, there was 
one of them whose name was Gabriel/' who showed much 
friendship toward the Englishmen, and informed them 
that with a fair wind they might reach the river Pechora 
in seven or eight days. 40 He promised to act as pilot and 
give warning of shoals; "as hee did indeede," adds Bur- 
rough. 

The English vessel now pursued its voyage in company 
with the Russian boats. They stayed close to the shore, 
saved from the shoals by the advice of their friendly guide. 
Near the entrance of the "White Sea much time was lost by 
the recurrence of stormy weather. By July 8, however, 
they had sailed past the entrance of the White Sea and had 
sighted the headland "which is called Caninoz" (Cape 

seHakluyt, II, 323. 
37 Ibid., II, 325. 
zsiMd., II, 326. 
B9lUd., II, 331. 
4o/6tU, II, 328. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 101 

Kanin). 41 From this point Burrough found himself in 
regions hitherto unsailed by any Englishman. On the 
14th the island called "Dolgoieve" (Kolguev) was 
sighted. 42 The next day the Searchthrift sailed over the 
bar of Pechora, 42 Burrough being the first Englishman to 
visit the mouth of that river. On the 20th they recrossed 
the bar and resumed their hazardous journey toward the 
northeast. 

The next day, July 21st, the English ship was almost 
destroyed by icebergs. "We thought that we had seen 
land ... " writes Burrough, "which afterwards 
proved to be a monstrous heape of ice. Within little more 
than halfe an houre after we first saw this ice, we were 
inclosed within it before we were aware of it, which was a 
f earfull sight to see : for, for the space of sixe houres, it was 
as much as we could doe to keepe our shippe aloofe from 
one heape of ice, and beare roomer from another. . . . 
The next day we were again troubled by the ice. ' ' 43 For 
this time, however, the danger was escaped and on July 
25 ? "S. James his day," the exploring party came upon 
several islands. 44 Near one they cast anchor and made a 
landing, naming it "S. James his Island" in honor of the 
day. 44 According to Burrough 's statement of the latitude 
(70° 42') this must have been one of the small islands off 
the coast of Nova Zembla/- 

On July 31 the Searchthrift came to anchor ' ' among the 
Islands of Yaigats" 45 (Waigatz), probably in the strait 
which separates Nova Zembla from Waigatz. During the 
month of August little or no progress was made. Bur- 
rough has left us, however, an interesting record of his 
observations in these regions, particularly of the relics of 

4iHakluyt, II, 333. 

42 Ibid., II, 334. 

43 Ibid., II, 335. 
**Ibid., II, 336. 
45 Ibid., II, 337. 



102 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

the absent natives, the Samoeds. He saw a large number 
of their idols, "in number above 300, the worst and the 
most unartificiall worke that ever I saw: the eyes and 
mouthes of sundrie of them were bloodie, they had the 
shape of men, women and children, very grosly wrought 
. . . some of their idols were an olde sticke with two or 
three notches, made with a knife in it . . . and be- 
fore certaine of their idols blocks were made as high as 
their mouths, being all bloody, I thought that to be the 
table whereon they offered their sacrifice. " 46 A Russian 
who was with the party told Burrough that these Samoeds 
did not live in houses but "onely tents made of Deers 
skins, which they underproppe with stakes and poles," also 
that "their knowledge is very base, for they know no let- 
ter. ' ' 4r This Russian, whose name was Loshak, offered to 
accompany the English party toward the river Obi. 47 

On August 5, however, the approach of " a terrible heape 
of ice" induced the voyagers "with all speed possible to 
depart from thence. ' ' 47 They changed their course to the 
west and for the following week were pursued by fright- 
ful storms along the northern and western coasts of Wai- 
gatz. "The ice came in so abundantly about us." writes 
Burrough on August 7, ". . . that it was a fearefull 
sight to behold : the storme continued with snow, rain, and 
hayle plenty. " 48 On August 12 they came to anchor off 
the southwest corner of the island. 

On Saturday, August 22, the bad weather abated. The 
perils they had so barely escaped and despair of discover- 
ing "any more to the Eastward this yeere" led Burrough 
to give up the attempt for that time. He mentions three 
causes for this decision: the continual northerly winds, 
"which have moe power after a man is past to the East- 

46 Hakluyt, II, 338. 

47 Hid., II, 339. 
48/Md, II, 340. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 103 

wards of Caninoze (Cape Kanin) then in any place that I 
doe know in these Northerly regions;" the abundance of 
ice, — "I adventured already somewhat too farre in it, but 
I thanke God for my safe deliverance from it;" and the 
darkening of the nights with the approach of winter. 49 
"And therefore," says Burrough, "I resolved to take the 
first best wind that God should send, and plie towards 
the Bay of S. Nicholas." 49 On the 24th they were off the 
coast of Kolguev once more. 50 By the 29th Cape Kanin 
had been reached. 50 Two days later the Searchthrift 
doubled that cape and entered the White Sea. 51 On Sep- 
tember 11 the party landed at Kholmogory. 51 The voyage 
was finished. 

Burrough expected to make another attempt the fol- 
lowing summer. Other business, however, prevented. 51 
We may say of his voyage that while it is of interest as in- 
dicating the intention of the Muscovy Company to pursue 
its exploring activities even after the establishment of its 
Russian trading rights it was not of much actual benefit 
either to the Company or to the English nation. It did, 
however, clearly indicate the tremendous difficulties con- 
nected with any attempt to discover a northeast passage. 

Between 1556 and 1568 there is no definite record of any 
systematic attempt on the part of the Company to explore 
the seas east of Cape Kanin. This is probably to be ex- 
plained, in part at least, by the attempts made during that 
period to reach Cathay by an overland route. We have 
already seen that in 1558 Anthony Jenkinson set out from 
Moscow on that enterprise. He crossed the Caspian and 
penetrated Asia as far as Bokhara. Cathay, of course, he 
failed to reach, but he did establish for the Company a 
trade with Persia. The monopoly of this trade remained 

49Hakluyt, II, 342. 
solUd., II, 343. 
si Ibid., II, 341. 



104 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

for many years one of the Company's most cherished privi- 
leges. It was realized, however, that the original problem, 
the discovery of a new route to China and India, was still 
unsolved. 

Of the exploration planned in 1568 no positive record has 
come down to us. All that we know is that at that time 
a voyage of exploration to the northeast was definitely ar- 
ranged for and its leaders appointed. We have copies of 
their instructions. The subsequent silence of the records 
may possibly indicate the suspension of the plan at the last 
moment. A disastrous outcome suggests itself as the other 
possible solution. 

It will be remembered that in 1568 Thomas Randolph 
was Elizabeth's ambassador to Ivan IV and that he had 
been accompanied to Russia by two special agents of the 
Company, Thomas Bannister and Goeffrey Duckett. 52 On 
August 12, the agents in a letter to Cecil concerning the 
Company's affairs in Russia state their intention of ap- 
pointing "Bassington (sic) with two mariners and inter- 
preters" to explore toward the northeast. 53 Evidently 
mindful of Burrough 's account of the Russian boats he had 
met on his voyage the agents decided to send the explorers 
out this time in a Russian vessel "which will be done at 
a small cost and ... to more purpose than if two 
barks should be sent out. ' ' 53 The voyagers are ' ' to pass 
from Pechoray . . . with the first open water in the 
spring along the coast eastward for the trial of the north- 
east passage. ' ' 53 

The commission had been drawn up by Randolph and the 
agents on August 1st. 54 It appoints James Bassendine, 

52 Supra, p. 64. 

53Cal. S. P. (Foreign) 1566-1568, p. 518. 

54Hakluyt's date of 1588 (Hakluyt, III, 119) is manifestly an 
error. The period of Randolph's embassy fixes the date as 1568. 
The position of the document in Hakluyt among other documents 
of the same period would seem to indicate that "1588" was a slip. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 105 

James Woodcocke and Richard Browne "joyntly together, 
and aiders, the one of them to the other, in a voyage of 
discovery to be made (by the grace of God) by them, for 
searching of the sea, and border of the coast, from the river 
Pechora, to the Eastwards." 55 Bassendine and his com- 
panions were instructed to sail directly to the mouth of 
the Pechora, " where is an island called Dolgoieve. ' ' 55 
Thence they were to sail to the eastward, keeping close to 
the coast until they should reach the river Obi. 56 They 
were not to enter that river, however, but to sail past its 
mouth, keeping ever in sight of land until the approach of 
winter should compel them to return, " which travell may 
well be 300 or 400 leagues to the Eastwards of the Ob, if 
the Sea doe reach so farre as our hope is it doth." 56 Care- 
ful observations of latitude and coast configurations were 
to be made and soundings taken at frequent intervals. 57 
A full record was to be kept "of all such things as shall 
fall out worth the knowledge, not forgetting to write it, 
and note it, that it may be shewed and read at your re- 
turne." 58 

The directions contained in the articles of commission 
evidence an absolute ignorance of the vast stretch of Si- 
berian coast that would have to be passed before the dream 
of a northeast passage should become a reality. The hope 
is expressed "that the said border of land and sea doth 
in short space after you passe the Ob, incline East, and so 
to the Southwards. ' ' 59 The difficulty they anticipated was 
not the three thousand miles of Arctic coast but was based 
on the curious fear that this coast might be found "to in- 
cline and trend to the Northwards, and so joyne with Nova 
Zembla, making the sea from Vaigats to the Eastwards but 
a bay"! 59 

esHakluyt, III, 119. 

seibid., Ill, 120. 

nibid., Ill, 122-123. 

58 IMd., Ill, 123. 59 Hid., Ill, 121. 



106 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Instructions given by the Company on the occasion of 
their next attempt are entirely silent on the subject of 
Bassendine and his companions. This would seem to indi- 
cate that the plan of 1568, even in the event of its having 
been undertaken, had led to no useful result. 1580 is the 
date of the next venture of which we have any definite 
knowledge. This time the most elaborate preparations 
were made not merely for an investigation of the coast 
east of the Obi but for the actual discovery of Cathay by 
way of the northeast. Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman 
were placed in charge of the voyage, their commission be- 
ing dated May 20, 1580. 60 Their vessels, the George and 
the William, then lying in the Thames, were provisioned 
for two and a half years. 61 Interest in the voyage was 
widespread. Besides the elaborate directions contained in 
the commission, William Burrough wrote the leaders of the 
enterprise a letter full of detailed advice. 62 "Master 
Dee," probably John Dee, the mathematician and astrolo- 
ger, also wrote them ' ' certaine brief e advises. ' ' 63 Richard 
Hakluyt himself has left us a record of "notes in writing, 
besides more privie by mouth," that he gave to Pet and 
Jackman, "not altogether unfit for some other enterprises 
of discovery, hereafter to be taken in hand. ' ' 64 Finally 
Gerard Mercator, the geographer, writing to Hakluyt 
shortly after the departure of the explorers, expressed his 
regret that he had not had an opportunity to add his word 
to the advice with which the leaders of the voyage had been 
besieged: "I wish Arthur Pet had bene informed before 
his departure of some speciall points. The voyage to Ca- 
thaio by the East, is doutlesse very easie and short," 65 etc. 

60 Hakluyt, III, 251. 
ei Ibid., Ill, 256. 
62 Ibid., Ill, 259 ff. 
wlbid., Ill, 262 ff. 
o*Ibid., Ill, 264 ff. 
Mlbid., Ill, 278. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 107 

Mercator's letter ends with the striking sentence, "At Ar- 
thur his returne I pray you learne of him the things I have 
requested, and whether any where in his voiage, he found 
the sea fresh, or not very salt: for I suppose the Sea be- 
tweene Nova Zembla and Tabin to be fresh. ' ' 66 

The commission clearly brings out that the prime pur- 
pose of the venture is to establish trading relations with 
the empire of Cathay. Pet and Jackman carried letters 
from Elizabeth to the Emperor and were instructed to try 
to procure from him in return definite trading privi- 
leges. 67 The Company was clearly attempting to realize 
the object implied in its official title, "the Company for the 
Discovery of New Trades." Nicholas Chancellor, a mer- 
chant, was sent with the expedition, evidently to superin- 
tend the commercial activities of the venture. 68 Pet was 
given the title of Admiral and Jackman that of Vice- 
Admiral. 68 

On the subject of the route to be followed the commis- 
sion is very definite. The ships were to set out from Lon- 
don as soon after May 22 as the weather would permit and 
proceed to the North Cape. 69 Thence they were to pass to 
the east. In this part of their voyage the explorers were 
to try to ascertain whether Nova Zembla was identical or 
contiguous with certain lands to the north mentioned by 
Willoughby in his journal. 69 Passing Waigatz they were 
to sail past the mouth of the Obi. 

The directions as to their subsequent route reveal the 

same ignorance of conditions as we found in the directions 

to Bassendine in 1568. Three contingencies are specifically 

provided for. The first course outlined provides that the 

coast east of the Obi is to be followed until Cathay is 

reached, "whether it incline Southerly or Northerly (as at 

eeHakluyt, III, 281. 
wlbid., Ill, 255. 
es Hid., Ill, 253. 
wllid., Ill, 254. 



108 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

times it may do both)." 70 If on the approach of winter 
they have not reached their destination they shall wait un- 
til the spring ' ' in some convenient harborow and place. ' ' 71 
Here, if the inhabitants seem to warrant it, commercial re- 
lations may be established, one of the Queen's letters being 
delivered to the prince and trading privileges if possible 
procured. Whether in this attempt they are successful or 
not, the following spring they shall proceed on their way 
to Cathay, — "for that is the Countrey that we chiefly de- 
sire to discover. ' ' 71 

The second contingency mentioned in the commission 
refers to the possibility "that the land of Asia, from be- 
yond the river Ob, extende it selfe Northwards to 80. de- 
grees, or neerer the poole . . . that small or no hope 
may be looked for, to saile that way to Cathay." 71 In 
that case the coast is to be followed, nevertheless, during 
the summer. The following winter, however, shall then 
be spent on the banks of the Obi, exploring that river the 
next summer if it should prove wide and deep enough to 
permit. "Happely you may come to the citie Siberia, or 
to some other towne or place habited upon or neere the 
border of it, and thereby have liking to winter out the 
second winter. ' ' 72 

The third direction makes provision for the explorers' 

course in case the Obi should be found to be too shallow to 

admit of the exploration referred to. In that case, after 

wintering in that river, the explorers shall turn back 

through "Boroughs streights" (Kara Strait). Thence 

they shall sail westward, keeping in sight of the coast of 

Nova Zembla until they reach ' ' Willoughbies land. ' ' 73 

The instruction adds, "and from Willoughbies land you 

shall proceed Westwards alongst the tract of it (though it 

ToHakluyt, III, 254. 
iilbid., Ill, 256. 

72 Ibid., Ill, 257. 

73 ibid. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 109 

incline Northerly) even so farre as you may or can travell, 
having regard that in convenient time you may returne 
home hither to London for wintering. ' ' 74 

In comparison with these ambitious plans the actual trip 
must be regarded as an absolute failure. The George and 
the William departed from Harwich at the end of May, 
1580. 75 On June 6 the vessels were separated but met once 
more at Wardhouse. 76 From here they put to sea on July 
l. 76 Next day, however, the William was seen to be in 
need of repair and made her way to Kegor, Arthur Pet 
continuing his voyage with the George with the idea of re- 
joining the William at Waigatz. 77 

Pet continuing his eastward course sighted land to the 
north on July 5. 77 Wind and ice prevented him from 
getting close to it. For the next two weeks the progress 
of his vessel was very slow. Much time was wasted in the 
attempt to pass the island of "Waigatz, but at last the 
George sailed through the strait which separates that island 
from the mainland and passed out into the Kara Sea. On 
the 24th the William was sighted, but " there was a great 
land of ice betweene her and us, so that we could not 
come one to the other. ' ' 78 Next day, however, the two' ves- 
sels did come together. The William was again out of re- 
pair but with the George's assistance was put in condition 
to continue the voyage. 78 

The story of the struggle of the explorers to make their 
way through the Kara Sea is largely a repetition of the dif- 
ficulties encountered by Burrough twenty-four years before. 
Icebergs impeded their progress and threatened their very 
existence. ' ' Windes we have had at will, ' ' writes the con- 
temporary narrator, "but ice and fogge too much against 

74Hakluyt, III, 258. 
" Hid., Ill, 282. 
76/6^., HI, 283. 
77/6^., HI, 284. 
™ilid., HI, 290. 



110 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

our willes, if it had pleased the Lord God otherwise. ' ' 79 
On July 28, Pet and Jackman held a conference and de- 
cided to put back to Waigatz, ' ' and there to conf erre fur- 
ther. ' ' 80 The return to Waigatz took nineteen days and 
constituted one of the most hazardous episodes of the 
whole voyage. The account is full of items like the fol- 
lowing: "At 3. in the afternoon (July 28) we did warpe 
from one piece of ice to another to get from them if it 
were possible: here were pieces of ice so great, that we 
could not see beyond them out of the toppe ; " 80 . . . 
"We did our best untill ten of the clocke (July 31), and 
then perceiving that we did no good, and being inclosed 
with ice, wee made our ships fast to a piece of ice: All 
this day the William lay still, and did as much good as we 
that did labour all the f orenoone ; " 81 . . . " This day 
(August 3) we lay still inclosed with yce, the weather bee- 
ing darke with fogge: thus abiding the Lords leasure, we 
continued with patience ; " 82 . . . " The eleventh day 
(August 11) we were much troubled with yce, and by great 
force we made our way through it, which we thought a 
thing impossible : but extremity doth cause men to doe 
much, and in the weakenesse off man Gods strength most 
appeareth. ' ' 83 On August 16 they at last reached the 
southeast coast of Waigatz. 84 

There is no record of further conference between the 
leaders. Their experience had probably proved to them 
that the task they had undertaken was impossible, at any 
rate for vessels the size of theirs. 85 They did not resume 

79 Hakluyt, III, 290. 

so Ibid., Ill, 291. 

si Ibid., Ill, 292. 

82 Ibid., Ill, 293. 

S3 Ibid., Ill, 295. 

Mlbid., Ill, 296. 

85 The George was a vessel of 40 tons, and the William of 20 tons. 
In the former were nine men and a boy; in the latter five men and 
a boy. Hakluyt, III, 252. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 111 

the abandoned northeast course. Instead the two ships 
sailed west through Waigatz Strait, went aground on 
Kolguev on August 20 86 but managed to get off, and pro- 
ceeded on their return voyage. Arthur Pet arrived at Rat- 
cliffe December 26. 87 Jackman with the William had 
parted from the George on August 22, 88 wintered at a port 
in Norway, "And from thence departed againe in Feb- 
ruarie following, and went in company of a ship of the 
King of Denmarke toward Island: and since that time he 
was never heard of. ' ' 89 

The contrast furnished by the elaborate preparations 
for the Pet-Jackman expedition and its absolute failure to 
accomplish anything might lead us to expect a cessation 
of this form of activity. While we have no full account 
or definite statement of any other northeast voyages sent 
out by the Company during the remainder of the century 
there is reason to believe that the idea was not abandoned. 
A document bearing date of 1584 contains a letter from 
certain Russian traders to Anthony Marsh, the Company's 
factor at that time, on the subject of the route to the Obi. 
Whether the plan advocated in the letter of reaching that 
river by sailing up the Pechora and across by way of the 
Ouson (Ussa?) was ever tried we do not know. One sen- 
tence in this document, however, indicates that at some 
time before 1584 Englishmen had reached the Obi. ' ' Here- 
tofore, " writes Marsh's correspondent, "your people haue 
bin at the said riuer of Obs mouth with a ship, and there 
was made shipwracke, and your people were slaine by the 
Samoeds. ' ' 90 Even if this statement does refer to an un- 
recorded expedition of the Company its disastrous con- 
clusion forbids us to consider it in the light of an actual 

86 Hakluyt, III, 297. 

&t Ibid., Ill, 303. 

ss ibid., Ill, 298. 

8»Ibid., Ill, 303. 

so Purchas His Pilgrimes (edit, by MacLehose) XIV, pp. 292-293. 



112 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 



discovery. In 1589 the Company was still seeking a route 
to the Obi ' ' and a passage by the northeast of St. Nicholas 
into Asia." 91 

No discussion of the explorations of the Muscovy 
Company in the sixteenth century could be considered com- 
plete without at least passing reference to the Company's 
connection with the attempts of the Elizabethan seamen to 
find a passage by the northwest. The Company's part in 
those ventures, which bore so close a relation to the ex- 
ploitation and colonization of the western continent, has 
not in the past received due recognition. With a brief 
consideration of this phase of the Company's activities we 
will bring this portion of our discussion to a close. 

The Charters of 1555 and 1566, it will be remembered, 
granted to the Muscovy Company the monopoly of any 
new trade routes that it might discover to the northwest 
as well as to the northeast. While its activities were 
largely limited to the eastern hemisphere the Company 
showed almost from the beginning that it realized the full 
extent of its privilege and would not allow it to be in- 
fringed in any particular without protest and resistance. 

In 1567 Humphrey Gilbert addressed a memorial to the 
Queen announcing his intention to attempt the discovery 
of a passage to Cathay by the northwest, and asking for 
a special grant of privileges. 92 These were to include 
the right to press mariners for the first four voyages, the 
payment of lower customs for forty years, the right to 
hold one-tenth of all lands that might be discovered, to 
have half of all fines and forfeits taken from those who 
should make use of the northwest route without authoriza- 
tion, and to have all ships employed in the traffic freed 
forever from imprest for any common service of the realm. 
This memorial was directly in conflict with the privileges 

oiCal. S. P. (Domestic) 1581-1590, p. 587. 
»2Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, pp. 6-7. 



te 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 113 

of the Muscovy Company. Accordingly, under date of 
June 24, 1567, the governors of the Company drew up a 
formal remonstrance which they sent to Secretary Cecil. 
In this document the Company announced that "since they 
have made attempts for the discovery of Cathay and are 
determined to do so again, 93 either by the northeast or 
northwest, they claim the ordering of all such discoveries 
according to their privileges, but will not refuse Mr. Gyl- 
berte 's advice and help if he will assist them. ' ' 94 

Where its own privileges were clearly recognized, how- 
ever, the Company does not seem to have stood in the way 
of explorations to the northwest. Michael Lok, for exam- 
ple, procured from it a privilege for the discovery of Cathay 
by a northwest route. 95 A few years later the ore brought 
back by Frobisher from his voyage was smelted at Muscovy 
House. 96 

A final instance under date of 1602 will indicate the 
Company's tenacity in asserting its claims. In that year 
Captain George Waymouth was employed by the two-year- 
old East India Company to take charge of a voyage of ex- 
ploration to the northwest. All arrangements were con- 
cluded when the Muscovy Company called a halt by as- 
serting its exclusive right to the navigation of the north- 
ern seas. The East India Company appointed a com- 
mittee to secure permission from the rival organization to 
undertake the voyage. 97 In this they failed. They then 
made another attempt, resolving this time that if the Mus- 
covy Company would not undertake the voyage itself or 
join with the East India Company for that purpose the 
latter would lay the case before the Privy Council. 98 On 
December 22 the Muscovy Company "having received let- 

93 The following year came the Bassendine project. 

»*Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 8. 

»5Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 22. 

aeCal. S. P. (Domestic) 1547-1580, p. 586; p. 605. 

»7Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 128. 98 JUd., p. 129. 



114 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

ters from the Privy Council" agreed to join the East India 
Company in the discovery." The latter Company, how- 
ever, finally undertook the venture alone. This victory of 
the East India Company may in a sense be considered 
symbolic of the part which that organization was to play 
thenceforth in English commerce and colonization. The 
Muscovy Company no longer occupied the center of the 
stage. 

The history of the Muscovy Company in the 16th cen- 
tury is of significance, first of all, because of the large 
part it played in the evolution of English commerce. 
When we consider that this company was the first of that 
large group of trading and colonizing organizations which 
entered as so large a factor in the expansion of English 
trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it is in- 
deed difficult to overstate its historical importance. Mod- 
eled in many respects on the still earlier Company of Mer- 
chant Adventurers, the Muscovy Company by the introduc- 
tion of a Joint Stock system adapted its organization to the 
needs of a more distant field of activity. It must be re- 
garded as the prototype of many of those later companies 
whose more successful careers have tended to prevent due 
recognition being given to their great predecessor of the 
sixteenth century. 

Of no less importance for the historian is the large in- 
fluence of the Muscovy Company in the development of 
the political relations of the English government. The 
trading companies probably did more than any other one 
agency to bring the nations of Europe into that close in- 
terdependence which characterizes the last three centuries 
of European history. The significance of the Muscovy 
Company for Russia is that it brought that country into 
the family of civilized European nations and introduced 

»»Cal. S. P. (Colonial) 1513-1616, p. 130. 



TRADE AND EXPLORATION 115 

to it the higher civilization, culture and arts of the West. 
For English history one of the Company's chief contri- 
butions consists in the large part it played in the expan- 
sion of the political and diplomatic outlook of the future 
world-empire. 



THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 
APPENDIX 

List of members of the Muscovy Company, May 1 (?), 1555. 
This MS. is preserved in the Public Record Office, London. C. S. 
P. (Dom.) Addenda, Mary, 1553-1556, Vol. VII, No. 39. 

The Lord High Treasurer. 

The Lord Howard. 

The Earl of Pembroke. 

The Lord High Admiral. 

The Lord Pagett. 

The Lord Savay (?). 

The Lord Chamberlain. 

Sir Robert Rochester Knight Comptroller. 

Sir Henry Fernegam Knight Vice chamberlain 

Sir Edward Hastings Knight Mr of Horses 

Sir Thomas Whartom Knight 

Sir Thomas Cornwalis Knight 

Sir William Pitts Knight 

Sir John Bo . . . Knight 

Sir Edward Walgrave knight 

Edwarde Griffith Esquire 

William Cordall Esquire 

Sir William Cecill knight 

Sir Henry Sidney knight 

Sir Thomas Wrothe knight 

Sir Richard Blunt knight 

Sir Richard Sackvyle knight 

Sir John Cleve (?) knight 

Sir William Woodhouse, knight 

Sir Thomas Woodhouse knight 

Sir William Dansell ( ? ) knight 

Mr. Nicolas Wotton Clerke. 

Sir John Gressham 

Sir Andrew Judde 

Sir George Barne 

Sir Thomas White 

Sir John Yorke, knight 

Mr. Davy Woodrooff 

Thomas Osley Gelder 

Thomas Curtis 

William Garrarde 

William Chester 

Thomas Lodge 

Mrs. Margaret Kyrtom 

Henry Herdsom 

116 



knights and Aldermen 



Aldermen 



APPENDIX 



117 



Sebastian Caboto 
Thomas Gresham 
Anthony Hussey 
John Marsh Jun ( ? ) 
John Southcott 
Henry Brinker 
Thomas Egerton 
John Dymock 
Wm. Clystom 
Clement. Throgmorton 
Edmond Somner ( ? ) 



Esquiers 



James Pagett 
Thomas Gravesende 
Bernarde Randolphe 
James Marshe 
William Ha . . try 
Thomas Colshill 
Richard Yonge 
William Wotton 



Gentlemen. 



Antony Hickman 
Alexander Carlisle 
Antony Gamage ( ? ) 
Antony Pargetar ( ?) 
Alexander Mather 
. . . Edwardes 
Blase Saunders 
Christopher Marler 
Clement Clarke 
Davy Appowall ( ?) 
David Saunders. 
Edmonde Stille 
Edwarde Jackman 
Edwarde Cashlyn ( ?) 
Edwarde Garthe 
Edmonde Roberts 
Edmonde Linste ( ?) 
Evan Luoge ( ? ) 
Edmonde Hasolpott (?) 
Edwarde Gilbarte 
Elizabeth Wilforde 
Edwarde Prynne 
Frannas Lambarde 
Frannas Robynsom 
Frannas Burnam ( ?) 



118- THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

George Heson ( ? ) 

Goffrey Walkden 

Goffrey Langhen 

George Hoploy 

George Ca . . . 

George Bursom 

George Myffe (?) 

Henry Richardes 

Henry Bithar 

Henry Grother ( ?) 

Humfrey Baskerfelde 

Henry Fallowfelde 

Henry Fissher 

Henry Flainack ( ?) 

Henry Lynar 

John Hart 

John Brooke 

John Le . . . Notary 

John Crynus ( ? ) 

John Harysom 

John Amioll ( ?) 

John Elyott 

John Byvers 

John Quarles 

John Wilf erde ( ? ) Inn 

John Hopkyns. 

John Heathe 

John Traves 

John Brai . . he 

John Wilkinson 

John Sparke 

John Cotton 

John Stark (?) 

John Campany 

John Femposen ( ?) 

John Mylner 

John Midley. 

John Bucklande 

John Stantonn 

John Harshe 

Lyonell Inckett 

Laurence Glasner ( ?) 

Martyn Trevener 

Miles Mordynge 

Nicolas Bacon 

Nicolas Burton • 

Nicolas Fuljambe 



APPENDIX 119 



Phillippe Ennter 

Phillippe Bolde 

Phillippe K . . er 

Katherin . . . 

Richarde Malory 

Richarde Poynter 

Richarde Chamberlyn 

Richarde Foulke 

Roger Marten 

Richarde Spryngham 

Richarde Barne 

Robert Dai . . berey 

Robert Woolman. 

Richarde Duckett 

Richarde Elkin 

Roberts Browne 

Roberte Spenser 

Richard Wills (?) 

Rowlande Heywarde 

Ran If Grenway 

Roberte Dowin Inn 

Roberte Crockhey 

Roberte Dome ( ?) 

Richarde Patricke 

Richarde Chaimalour ( ? ) 

Richarde Taillour 

Stephaine Abowroughe ( ? ) 

Thomas Godman 

Thomas Wilke 

Thomas Luke ( ?) 

Thomas Chamber 

Thomas Banester 

Thomas Palleysten ( ? ) 

Thomas Nicolls thilder niker 

Thomas Heton (?) 

Thomas Langley 

Thomas Casfell 

Thomas Heigham 

Thomas Browne 

Thomas Smythe 

Thomas Sparkc 

Thomas Anderson 

Thomas Allen 

Thomas Moore 

Thomas Stanbridge 

Thomas Starke Drap 

Thomas Atkynsone Notary 



120 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Thomas Sares ( ?) 

Thomas Unoffe (?) Goldsmythe 

Thomas Ffranncis 

William Watsone 

Walter Yonge 

William Allenne 

William Gifforde 

William Lincknor ( ?) 

William Mericke 

William Streete 

Walter Levesone 

William Knyght 

William Malory 

William Rosse 

William Bully 

William Billingston 

William Monnstowe (?) 

William Bonde 

William Tucker 

Walter Marler 

William Dawke ( ?) 

William Humfrey 

Walter Garwan 

William Levi son 

William Cholmelen 

Xtofer Danntisey (?) 

Xtofer Draper 



LIST OF CHIEF SOURCES USED 

Hakluyt, Kichard. The Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques 
and Discoveries of the English Nation. 12 Vols. Glasgow, 1903. 
— Volumes II and III contain more than six hundred pages of 
documentary material more or less directly connected with 
the commercial relations of England and Russia. Of partic- 
ular value are the two charters of the Company (II, 304-316 
and III, 83-91), the correspondence of the Company with its 
agents in Russia, and the contemporary accounts of the ex- 
plorations undertaken by the Company {passim). 

Tolstoy, George. The First Forty Years of Intercourse between Eng- 
land and Russia. St. Petersburg, 1875. — This is a collection 
of eighty-two documents covering the period from 1553 to 1593 
and devoted almost exclusively to diplomatic correspondence. 
Each document is given in both English and Russian, with the 
exception of eighteen which, originally in Latin, are printed 
in Latin and Russian only. Many of the documents included 
in this volume are not elsewhere accessible in print. 

Russia at the Close of the Sixteenth Century. London, 1856. This 
volume of the Hakluyt Society Publications contains two val- 
uable contemporary works, Dr. Giles Fletcher's Of the Russe 
Common Wealth, and A Relacion or Memoriall Abstracted owt 
of Sir Jerom Horsey His Travells, etc. The five appendices 
(pp. 267-381) contain valuable contemporary material on the 
missions of Fletcher and Horsey. 

Early Voyages and Travels to Russia and Persia. 2 vols., London, 
1886. This volume of the Hakluyt Society Publications, edited 
by E. Delmar Morgan and C. H. Coote, while chiefly of value 
for the Persian trade, contains material on the Muscovy Com- 
pany not easily accessible elsewhere. 

Calendars of State Papers, Domestic, Foreign, Venetian and Colon- 
ial (East Indies). The Calendars contain numerous references 
to the Muscovy Company and to Russian relations. Unfor- 
tunately most of the references are fragmentary and a few 
are enigmatical. The originals in the Record Office have in 
most cases been consulted but have not, as a rule, furnished 
much additional information. Perhaps special mention should 
be made of S. P. (Dom.) Addenda Vol. VII, No. 39, which con- 
tains a list of the members of the Company in 1555. (See 
Appendix, pp. 116-120.) 

121 



122 THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. Hatfield House 
MSS., Rutland MSS., Calvetti Correspondence. Much, of the 
correspondence of both the older and younger Cecil throws an 
interesting light on the relation of the English government to 
Russia and to the Muscovy Company. No material of prime 
importance, however, has been gathered from these sources. 

Records of the Court of Husting. Roll 341, No. 29. MS. preserved 
in Guildhall, London. Interesting as helping to locate Muscovy 
House. 

Wright, Thomas. Queen Elizabeth and Her Times, A Series of 
Original Letters, etc. 2 Vols. London, 1838. Its chief value 
for our purpose consists in a letter written by William Smith, 
May 15, 1572, giving a definite picture of Russian conditions 
and the state of the Company. 

The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of Lon- 
don, from A. D. 1550 to A. D. 1563. London, 1848. (Camden 
Society). Contains a few interesting notes on the first Rus- 
sian embassy and makes occasional mention of members of the 
Muscovy Company. 

Wriothesley, Charles. A Chronicle of England during the Reign 
of the Tudors. 2 Vols. London, 1875. Like the above this is 
chiefly of interest for its incidental description of the embassy 
of Napea in 1556-7. 



English Trading Expeditions Into Asia 

Under the Authority of the 

Muscovy Company 

(1557-1581) 



Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Pennsylvania in partial fulfilment of the requirements 
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1910. 

By EARNEST V. VAUGHN, Ph.D. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Search for an Overland Koute to Cathay .... 127 

II. The Establishment of Trading Relations with Persia . . 142 

III. The Attempted Development of the Persian Trade . . .162 

IV. The Downfall of the Persian Trade 182 

V. The Strength and Weakness of the Persian Venture . . 195 

Bibliography 211 



ENGLISH TRADING EXPEDITIONS INTO ASIA 

UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MUSCOVY 

COMPANY (1557-1581) 

CHAPTER I 

THE SEARCH FOR AN OVERLAND ROUTE TO CATHAY 

During the sixteenth century Englishmen were engaged 
in a search for a route to Cathay that would not conflict 
with the claims of the Spaniards and the Portuguese. Be- 
ginning with the voyage of John Cabot and extending to 
the establishment of the East India Company, many at- 
tempts were made to solve the problem, and though all 
such attempts previous to the close of the century were 
destined to fail in their ultimate purpose, they derive 
great significance from the fact that they really laid the 
foundations for the commercial and colonial empire of 
England. The first half of the century was largely a 
period of discussion and of tentative effort, during which 
the theory of the northeastern as well as of the north- 
western passage was very clearly outlined. 1 But it was 
not until the second half of the century that England 
definitely awakened to her opportunities and began to 
take her place in discovery, exploration, and trade ex- 
pansion. 

The new epoch may be said to have begun for English- 
men when Willoughby and Chancellor set sail, on May 20, 
1553, to seek out unknown lands which might serve as an 

i Robert Thorne, in 1527, suggested sailing northward to the 
pole and thence southwest or southeast to Cathay. Hakluyt, Voy- 
ages, II, 161-163, 176-178. A little earlier Paulo Centurione, an 
Italian, outlined a route overland from Russia, similar to that later 
followed by the Muscovy Company, except that its terminus was 
the Baltic instead of the White Sea. Eden, First Three English 
Books on America, 286-7, 308-310. According to Beazley, The Cabots, 
181, Centurione in 1525 offered his plan to Henry VIII. 

127 



128 TRADE IN ASIA 

outlet for English merchandise. 2 This voyage is of fur- 
ther significance in that it inaugurated a period of re- 
markable activity in the endeavor to find an independent 
northern route to China or India. In the fifty years fol- 
lowing this voyage to the northeast efforts were made in 
various directions to reach the coveted markets of the East, 
either by sea to the northeast or the northwest, overland 
by way of Russia and the countries beyond the Caspian, 
or eastward through the Mediterranean and the Levant, 
until finally success was achieved along the forbidden route 
to the southward which the Portuguese had monopolized 
for a century. 

The earliest developments, however, followed Richard 
Chancellor's arrival in the "White Sea, his journey to Mos- 
cow, and his friendly reception by Ivan IV. 3 In answer 
to a letter of Edward VI addressed to all kings and poten- 
tates to the northeast toward the empire of Cathay, Chan- 
cellor received from the Czar a promise that English mer- 
chants should have freedom of movement and of trade 
throughout his realm, and to that end it was suggested 
that an ambassador be sent from England to settle all de- 
tails in regard to these privileges. 4 Apparently this let- 
ter of the Czar's, together with Chancellor's reports con- 
cerning Russia, 5 made considerable impression in England, 
for in the spring of 155a three factors, Richard Chancellor, 
George Killingworth, and Richard Gray sailed for Russia 
with letters from Philip and Mary and with instructions 
to negotiate with the Czar. 6 Upon the occasion of a third 

2 The motive for the voyage is clearly expressed in Clement 
Adams's account and also in Cabot's Ordinances, arts. 20 and 21. 
Hakluyt, II, 200-202, 239-240. 

3 Ibid., II, 244-251. 

* /&{<?,, II, 209-211, 271-272. 

s Chancellor's own account is merely a description of Russia. 
That of Clement Adams, based on information obtained from Chan- 
cellor, gives also an account of the journey. Both are given in 
Ibid., II, 224-270. 

6 Ibid., II, 278-281. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 129 

voyage the following year, the English merchants sent 
to their factors detailed instructions as to how the new 
Russian trade should be conducted. 7 Thus trading rela- 
tions were established with Russia along the line of a 
practicable sea route around Norway and Sweden which 
made the English merchants independent of the Baltic 
cities. 

On February 6, 1555, Queen Mary granted a charter to 
these "Marchants adventurers for the discoverie of lands, 
territories, lies & seigniories unknowen" which gave them 
the exclusive right to trade with Russia and with all other 
lands lying to the ' * Northwards, Northeastwards, or North- 
westwards/' not heretofore frequented by her subjects. 8 
This was the beginning of the well-known Muscovy or 
Russia Company. Favored by this charter and by a grant 
of privileges from Ivan IV, 9 this Company devoted itself 
to the development of its trade to the "White Sea and to 
the interior of the country, and thence beyond the Caspian 
Sea. Factories were established in various parts of Rus- 
sia — Kholmogory, Novgorod, Vologda, and Moscow — and a 
considerable trade resulted which seems to have been to 
the advantage of both countries concerned, or at least of 
their governments. 

However, the development of the Russian trade was not 
permitted to obscure the search for a passage towards 
Cathay. The vague and general terms of the original sail- 
ing instructions gave place, upon the second voyage in 
1555, to fairly definite suggestions towards the carrying 
out of this ultimate purpose; the factors sent out to Rus- 
sia were told to "use all wayes and meanes possible to 
learne ho we men may passe from Russia, either by land 
or sea to Cathaia, . . . and to what knowledge you 

THakluyt, II, 281-289. 
a Ibid., II, 308, 315. 
t>Ibid., II, 297-303. 



130 TRADE IN ASIA 

may come, by conferring with the learned or well travailed 
persons, either naturall or forrein, such as have travailed 
from the North to the South. ' ' 10 In the same year, a 
clause was inserted in the charter of privileges granted 
by the Czar which gave the English merchants freedom to 
pass at their pleasure into other countries, either by sea, 
by land, or by fresh water, thus preparing the way for 
such an attempt. 11 The next year the Muscovy Company 
sent out the Searchthrift, under Stephen Burrough, to 
continue the temporarily delayed search for a sea passage 
to the northeast. Departing from Gravesend, April 29, 
1556, Burrough rounded North Cape and passed beyond 
the Pechora as far as the island of Waigatz; but he was 
prevented from renewing his explorations in the following 
spring. 12 Though by no means lost sight of in the suc- 
ceeding years, it was not until the Pet and Jackman ex- 
pedition, in 1580, that the northeastern passage was again 
attempted. 

With the year 1557 the interests of the Muscovy Com- 
pany turned more strongly to the interior of Russia, and 
especially to the alternative overland route through that 
country to the East. Presumably the factors, according 
to their instructions, had made inquiries concerning the 
possibilities of such a route, and the result is to be seen 
in the fact that Anthony Jenkinson was now placed in 
charge of the ships for Russia, with a further commission 
to undertake the search for an overland route to Cathay. 
To that end the Company wrote to their factors in Russia 
to furnish him with the men, money, and supplies, that 
he should regard as necessary for the undertaking. 13 The 
choice of the English merchants was an excellent one, as 

loHakluyt, II, 285. 
n/fetU, II, 299. 
12 /bid., II, 322-344, 363. 

is Ibid., II, 390. There seems to be no evidence that Jenkinson 
deserves the credit of originating the plan. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 131 

Jenkinson was an admirable type of the Englishman of 
the period, bold, indefatigable, ready for any adventure; 
in the course of his varied career in the service of the 
Muscovy Company he was to prove himself equally able 
as explorer, merchant, and diplomat. 14 The inauguration 
of this plan marks the beginning of those expeditions into 
Asia under the authority of the Muscovy Company which 
are to form the subject matter of this and the following 
chapters. 

Departing from Gravesend with four ships, on May 12, 
1557, Jenkinson reached St. Nicholas on July 13, and from 
thence proceeded to Moscow, where he was well received 
by the Czar. He tarried there during the winter, and 
then in the following spring petitioned Ivan IV for a royal 
license to depart on his mission beyond the Caspian Sea. 
Not only was this permission granted, but in addition the 
Czar graciously gave "his letters under his great seale, 
unto all princes through whose dominions master Jenkin- 
son should have occasion to passe, that he might the sooner 
and quietlier passe by meanes thereof. " 15 As this over- 
land voyage of Jenkinson was a deliberate attempt to solve 
the great problem of a route to Cathay by combining the 
new sea-route around the North Cape and the river sys- 
tems of Russia with the northernmost of the mediaeval 
trade routes from East to West, it was an undertaking 
of considerable magnitude as well as of great interest. 

At this time the situation in Russia was very favorable 
to such an undertaking on account of her recent conquests 
towards the east and south. Following the liberation from 
the Tartar yoke towards the close of the fifteenth century, 
Ivan the Great had done much to consolidate the kingdom 

i* He had had considerable previous experience as a traveler. At 
Aleppo, in 1553, he had obtained from the Sultan a trading privi- 
lege. Hakluyt, III, 195, V, 109-110. 

is Ibid., II, 436. Jenkinson's own briefer account of the journey 
to Moscow and his reception there is given, Ibid., II, 413-421. 



132 TRADE IN ASIA 

and to put down internal dissensions. His policy was con- 
tinued by his son, Yassili III, and by his grandson, Ivan 
IV, known in history as Ivan the Terrible. In 1552 the 
latter conquered Kazan, an important Tartar fortress on 
the Volga, and two years later the capture of Astrakhan 
near the mouth of that river extended the power of Russia 
to the Caspian Sea. 16 Thus, not only did the Volga be- 
come a Russian river but also communication with Persia 
and other lands beyond the Caspian was made compara- 
tively safe and easy. These developments, therefore, were 
of the greatest advantage to Jenldnson and to the Muscovy 
Company. 

On April 23, 1558, Jenkinson left Moscow, accompanied 
by Richard and Robert Johnson and also a Tartar inter- 
preter. 17 He proceeded by way of the rivers Moscow 
and Oka to Nijni Novgorod and from there down the 
Volga to Astrakhan, which he reached by July 14. His 
description of the journey down the Volga includes an 
account of the Krim and Nogay Tartars, who, thanks to 
the Russian conquests, were held somewhat under con- 
trol. Astrakhan, however, was the outpost of the Russian 
authority to the southeast; consequently for the rest of 
his journey the traveler had to depend largely upon his 
own tact and resources. Though it was a mart town for 
Russian, Tartar and Persian merchants, Astrakhan does 
not seem to have impressed Jenkinson very favorably, as 
he expressed the opinion that its trade was hardly worth 
following. 18 

After some delay in order to provide and equip a boat 

is Howorth, History of the Mongols, II, 355-357, 422; Rambaud, 
History of Russia, I, 252-256. Jenkinson, in Hakluyt, II, 451, 454, 
seems to have the dates wrong. 

i" Jenkinson's account of the expedition, sent to the merchants 
of the Muscovy Company upon his return, is given in Ibid., II, 
449-479, and is the basis of the following pages. 

i8/6id., II, 456. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 133 

for the next stage of the journey, Jenkinson and his com- 
panions, in company with certain Tartars and Persians, 
embarked at Astrakhan on August 6, and successfully over- 
coming the dangers of navigation at the mouth of the Volga 
they entered the Caspian Sea four days later, the first 
Englishmen perhaps to sail upon its waters. Turning 
northward after leaving the Volga, the course followed 
the coast-line somewhat closely as they sailed around the 
northern end of the Caspian Sea and down its eastern 
coast as far as the port of Mangishlak, which evidently was 
a point of departure for caravans to the eastward. On 
account of a storm, however, it was necessary to land at 
a less desirable haven on Koshak bay just opposite Man- 
gishlak. Here on September 3 Jenkinson disembarked, 
and he and his company were "gently intertained of the 
Prince, and of his people," that is, presumably by the 
Turkomans of that region. 

It was with these people that arrangements had to be 
made regarding camels and provisions for the caravan 
journey through Turkestan. In fact, before a landing was 
made, negotiations had been begun for camels to carry 
the merchandise of the travelers to Vezir, a twenty days' 
journey from Mangishlak, 19 and the messengers had re- 
turned with encouraging words and fair promises in all 
things. However, Jenkinson was really at their mercy and 
before his departure he "founde them to bee very badde 
and brutish people, for they ceased not dayly to molest 
us, either by fighting, stealing or begging, raysing the prise 
of horse and camels, and victuals double, that the wont 
was there to bee, and forced us to buy the water that 
wee did drinke: which caused us to hasten away, and to 
conclude with them as well for the hier of camels, as for 

is Twenty-five days from their landing place. Hakluyt, II, 459, 
461. 



134 TRADE IN ASIA 

the price of such as wee bought, with other provision, ac- 
cording to their owne demaunde. ' ' 20 

On September 14 a caravan of one thousand camels set 
out from this place. 21 Several days later, upon reaching 
the country of Mangishlak, it was waylaid by certain 
armed Tartars in the name of their master, Timur Sultan, 
the governor of that region, whereupon the wares were 
opened and those things that were wanted were taken with- 
out any pretense of payment. Evidently the ruler of 
Mangishlak did not intend to lose his tribute because the 
caravan started elsewhere. Unlike the other merchants, 
Jenkinson was not willing to submit to such treatment, 
and so he presented himself before Timur Sultan to pro- 
test most vigorously against being robbed and to request 
the Sultan's favor and passport while traveling through 
his country. The request was granted, but Jenkinson was 
able to recover only a part of his loss. 22 He says, how- 
ever, that if he had not thus sought out the ruler he would 
probably have been killed and his merchandise seized, as 
he understood that commands had been given to that ef- 
fect. After answering the many questions of the Sultan 
and giving his reasons for coming into that region, Jen- 
kinson was permitted to depart and rejoined the caravan. 
Now began the long march through the Turkoman country, 
during which the travelers suffered greatly for water and 
were driven by necessity to kill some of the horses and 
camels for food. October 3, they came to "a gulphe oi 
the Caspian sea," probably Lake Sarikamish, where they 

20 For each camel's weight, four hundred pounds, they gave three 
Russian hides and four wooden dishes, besides various gifts. Hak- 
luyt, II, 459. 

21 There is no reason for saying all these camels were Jenkinson's, 
as Tolstoy, p. XIV, Howorth, Mongols, II, 972, and others do. 
There were forty travelers in the caravan, while on his second 
expedition Jenkinson had only forty-five camels and a few horses. 
Hakluyt, II, 467, III, 21. 

22 IMd., II, 460. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 135 

found fresh water and paid toll to the Turkoman king. 23 
Pour days later they arrived at Vezir, the dwelling place 
of Hadjim Khan, the king, and three of his brothers. 24 
Here the usual procedure took place; Jenkinson presented 
his gift to the Khan and delivered the Czar '& letters, where- 
upon he was permitted to dine in the royal presence. In 
a second audience on the following day the Khan asked 
concerning the affairs of England and Russia, and then 
at his departure gave him letters of safe conduct. 

When Urgendj was reached, on October 16, it was again 
necessary to pay custom, this time for each person as well 
as for the camels and horses. While Jenkinson was there 
Ali Sultan, brother of Hadjim Khan, returned from a cam- 
paign in Khorassan, thus affording a glimpse of the al- 
most continual warfare that existed between the Persians 
and the Tartar chieftains to the north. 25 Once more the 
Czar's letters were presented, the usual questions were 
asked, and the all important letter of safe conduct was 
granted. Though it was a walled town, Urgendj was then 
in a state of decay, due perhaps to the recent period of 
civil strife which had driven most of the merchants from 
the place, while those remaining were so poor that Jen- 
kinson was able to sell them only a few kersies. 26 The 
chief commodities sold there were such as came from Bok- 
hara or Persia, and of these he says the quantity was small. 

After remaining at Urgendj for nearly six weeks the 

23 Hakluyt, II, 461; post 136, note 27, and authorities there cited. 

24 "All the land from the Caspian sea to this Citie of Urgence is 
called the lande of Turkeman, & is subject to the said Azim Can, 
and his brethren which be five in number." Hakluyt, II, 463. See 
also Howorth, Mongols, II, 886. 

25 Jenkinson says the town of "Corozan," but there seems to be 
no such place. Anthony Jenkinson and other Englishmen, Early 
Voyages and Travels, I, 70, note 3. For the raids see Howorth, 
Mongols, II, 888. 

26 "It hath bene wonne and lost 4. times within 7. yeeres by civill 
warres." Hakluyt, II, 463. 



136 TRADE IN ASIA 

caravan proceeded eastward along the Kunia Daria for a 
hundred miles, crossed the Amu Daria/ 7 and on December 
7 arrived at Kait, a city under the authority of still an- 
other brother of Hadjim Khan. This Sultan, it seems, had 
designs upon the Christians in the caravan, but fear of 
his brother at Urgendj kept him from carrying them out. 
It is quite characteristic, however, that the councilor who 
imparted this information " willed us," as Jenkinson says, 
to make the Sultan a present, which he took and delivered 
to his master. That was not the only payment expected, 
for at this place the merchants paid as custom one red 
hide of Russia for each camel, besides petty gifts to the 
officials. 28 

Shortly after the departure of the caravan from Kait 
an event occurred which throws the strongest possible light 
upon the dangers of travel among the wild and predatory 
tribes of Turkestan. The whole region seems to have been 
infested with bands of robbers, but the stretch of desert 
country from Kait to Bokhara was the worst that Jenkin- 
son had to traverse in the course of his long journey. On 
the night of December 10 four horsemen were taken as 
spies, from whom it was ultimately learned that three days ' 
journey ahead there was a band of forty men lying in 
wait for the caravan, and that they themselves were of 
that company. The Sultan thereupon furnished a guard 
of eighty soldiers to accompany the caravan. On the third 
day these soldiers, after scouting for a time, came running 
back, declaring that they had found traces of the robbers 
and that a meeting with them was imminent. So they at 
once "asked us what we would give them to conduct us 
further, or els they would returne. To whom we offered 

27 It hardly seems necessary here to give the arguments on the 
vexed questions of Aralo-Caspian geography. For Jenkinson's con- 
nection therewith see Hakluyt, II, 461, 465; Howorth, Mongols, II, 
972-977; Huntington, The Pulse of Asia, 347-350. 

28 Hakluyt. II, 465. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 137 

as we thought good, but they refused our offer, and would 
have more, and so we not agreeing they departed from 
us, and went backe to their Soltane, who (as wee con- 
jectured) was privie to the conspiracies " 29 

Within three hours after the departure of the soldiers, 
horsemen were seen approaching and the travelers, forty 
in number, drew together for defense. The fight that 
ensued lasted nearly all day, with losses on both sides, and 
had it not been for four hand guns used by Jenkinson and 
his company the robbers would have been successful. As 
it was, a truce was agreed on until the following morning. 
During the night a parley was held, in which the leader 
of the robbers demanded the surrender of the Christians 
in the caravan, promising that the rest might depart in 
peace, but this proposition was rejected. When morning 
came, however, neither side wished to risk a renewal of 
the conflict, and so an agreement was reached, by the terms 
of which the thieves were to withdraw after receiving a 
specified amount of plunder, together with a camel to carry 
it away. 30 Thus the struggle was ended satisfactorily ; but 
the fear of this and of other bands of robbers followed 
the travelers to the end of their journey. 

Finally, on December 23, the caravan entered Bokhara, 
a large, walled city in Bactria, commercially important 
because its central location made it a meeting place for the 
merchants of the East and of the West for the interchange 
of their wares. It had been just eight months since Jen- 
kinson and his companions set out from Moscow and four 
months and a half since they entered the Caspian Sea; 
and later Jenkinson estimated that the remainder of the 
journey to Cathay would have occupied nine months 
more. 31 Three days after his arrival Jenkinson dined with 

29Hakluyt, II, 466. 

30 Soldiers sent out from Bokhara later broke up the band and 
recovered part of the goods. Ibid., II, 471-472. 
3i Ibid., II, 473. 



138 TRADE IN ASIA 

Abdullah Khan, the ruler of Bokhara, and presented to 
him the letters of the Czar of Russia. On various oc- 
casions the Khan sent for him to discuss the power of the 
Czar and of the Great Turk, as well as other subjects. 
However, their relations were not in all respects so sat- 
isfactory, as Jenkinson wrote that "before my departure 
he shewed himself a very Tartar ; for he went to the warres 
owing me money. " 32 It became necessary for him to remit 
part of the debt and to take wares in payment of the rest. 

During the three months and a half that he was at 
Bokhara, Jenkinson had ample opportunity to study the 
commercial situation in detail. Apparently local condi- 
tions were not very favorable to trade, although one of 
the quarters into which the city was divided was set apart 
for merchants and markets. The revenues of the Khan 
were small and depended largely upon his impositions 
on trade: he is said to have taken the tenth penny in all 
sales made within the city, either by craftsmen or mer- 
chants, to the great impoverishment of the people; also 
when in need of money he sent his officers to the shops 
to seize the wares of the merchants, as was done to pay 
Jenkinson for some kersies. Besides he seems to have 
manipulated the coinage to his own advantage. 

Every year great numbers of merchants resorted to Bok- 
hara, traveling thither from India, Persia, Balkh, Russia, 
and various other countries, and also from Cathay until the 
closing of the passage shortly before Jenkinson 's arrival. 
To the Englishman these merchants seemed beggarly and 
poor and the wares they brought small in quantity, while 
often two or three years were necessary to dispose of 
them. It is not surprising, therefore, that he regarded 
the trade as hardly worth following. 33 However that may 
have been, there are certain features of the trade centering 

32Hakluyt, II, 471. 
Mlbid., II, 470-473. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 139 

in Bokhara that undoubtedly had an important bearing 
upon Jenkinson's mission into central Asia. For one thing 
the existence of commercial relations with Russia seems 
to show how fully Jenkinson had been proceeding along 
well-known and established lines of trade. Furthermore, 
it is clear that Bokhara was not a promising market for 
English cloths; the Persian merchants themselves brought 
thither various sorts of cloth, part of which at least they 
obtained at Aleppo or through the Turkish merchants, 
while the merchants from India refused to barter their 
commodities for Jenkinson's kersies. Besides, it was seen 
that the latter did not bring to Bokhara any gold, silver, 
precious stones, or spices, as all such trade now passed by 
way of the sea, the markets being under Portuguese con- 
trol. But the most discouraging fact of all was the knowl- 
edge that for three years the passage to the eastward had 
been closed on account of wars in the region of Tashkend 
and Kashgar, thus not only shutting off the commodities 
that usually came from Cathay but also making it impos- 
sible for Jenkinson to continue his quest for an overland 
route to that country, which was the primary reason for 
undertaking his journey. 34 Under these conditions, there- 
fore, Jenkinson and his companions had to content them- 
selves with collecting at Bokhara what information they 
could in regard to Cathay and the various routes by which 
it might be reached. 35 

In the spring, when the caravans began to depart and 
when it seemed probable that Bokhara would be besieged 
as a result of the renewal of the war with Khorassan, 
jenkinson determined that it was time to set out on the 
return journey. At first he thought of returning by way 

3*Hakluyt, II, 473; Early Voyages and Travels, I, 107-108. 

35 As Jenkinson reserved his discussion of Cathay until his return 
his opinions are not definitely known. His companion, Richard 
Johnson, collected information concerning the various routes to 
Cathay. Hakluyt, II, 474, 480-482. 



140 TRADE IN ASIA 

of Persia in order to investigate its commercial possibili- 
ties more thoroughly than he had been able to do at As- 
trakhan and Bokhara. But for various reasons he was 
unable to carry out this plan, among them being the clos- 
ing of the routes in that direction by the renewal of the 
war with the Shah and the action of the "metropolitan" 
of Bokhara in seizing the letters of safe conduct the Czar 
had given him, without which, he says, he could not have 
traveled in any safety. Furthermore, he had become con- 
vinced that the wares he had received in barter or in lieu 
of money due him were not suitable for the Persian trade. 36 
Thus it became necessary to return by the same route that 
he had come. 

On March 8, 1559, the return journey was begun, in 
company with a caravan numbering six hundred camels. 37 
In due time Urgendj and Vezir were reached: near the 
former the caravan fortunately escaped a large band of 
rovers who were lying in wait for its return, at the latter 
the preparations were made for the final stage of the 
journey to the Caspian Sea. The voyage by sea to As- 
trakhan lasted from April 23 to May 28 on account of 
storms and other difficulties. After a long, monotonous 
trip, by water to Murom, thence by land, Jenkinson early 
in September appeared before the Czar at Moscow, pre- 
sented to him several ambassadors who had been sent to 
Russia under his care from the rulers of Bokhara, Balkh, 
and Urgendj, 38 and answered his various questions touch- 
ing the countries that had been visited. The following 
February he went to Vologda, remained there until the 

seHakluyt, II, 474. 

37 This calls for the same comment as ante, p. 134, note 21. The 
statement in R. H. S. Trans., VII, 69, that he returned with six 
hundred camel loads of Oriental merchandise may be given as a 
further example of such statements. 

38 This is significant as a recognition of Russian influence. How- 
ever, Jenkinson was probably mistaken in regarding it as the first 
of such embassies. Early Voyages and Travels, I, 94, note 2. 



SEARCH FOR OVERLAND ROUTE 141 

opening of navigation, and then proceeded to Kholmogory 
to await the embarkation for England. 

Such is the history of Jenkinson 's attempt, under author- 
ity of the Muscovy Company, to solve by a direct overland 
route from Russia the problem of reaching the markets 
of Cathay. Though he failed in his endeavor to open 
such a route, his actual achievement is such as to entitle 
him to a high place in the list of Elizabethan explorers. 
The first of his nation to penetrate into Asia, he had trav- 
eled through a dangerous and little known region as far 
as Bokhara, and had explored and described the Volga 
and eastern and southeastern Russia, the northern portion 
of the Caspian Sea, and the various Tartar kingdoms east- 
ward as far as Bactria. In a word, he had added much 
to the geographical knowledge of his time. 39 However, 
he was always mindful of the interests of the English mer- 
chants, and thus was especially concerned with the pos- 
sibilities of trade in the different countries he entered. 
Though his conclusions were not very flattering, still they 
do not seem to have discouraged further activity beyond 
the borders of Russia, as his return was followed by a 
succession of voyages into Asia for purposes of trade. The 
only reference to the immediate pecuniary results of the 
undertaking is Jenkinson 's statement that, in spite of dan- 
gers, losses, expenses, and disappointments, he had brought 
back merchandise sufficient "to answere the principall with 
profite." 40 

39 A full discussion of Jenkinson's services to geography may be 
found in Early Voyages and Travels, introd. pp. CXIII-CXLVIII. 
The map attributed to him is given opp. p. OXX. 

ioiMd., I, 108. 



CHAPTER II 

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TRADING RELATIONS WITH PERSIA 

As the voyage of Richard Chancellor laid the founda- 
tion for the English trade with Russia, so that of Anthony 
Jenkinson over the Caspian Sea pointed out the way from 
Russia to the countries of western Asia and determined the 
direction of all further efforts of the Muscovy Company 
in that region. It was evident, as a result of the journey 
to Bokhara, that a route overland to Cathay was not only 
dangerous and difficult but under existing conditions 
actually impossible, and so, probably upon Jenkinson 's ad- 
vice, the activities of the English merchants were turned 
towards Persia. As has been pointed out, Jenkinson had 
made inquiries concerning the Persian trade and perhaps 
at both Astrakhan and Bokhara had come in contact with 
the merchants from that country, and, when he found fur- 
ther progress eastward effectually blocked, he had for a 
time thought of going there. Also, upon his return to 
Moscow he definitely expressed the belief that the regions 
adjacent to the Caspian Sea offered a good field for the 
activities of the Company. 1 Thus in 1561, the year fol- 
lowing his arrival in England, the Muscovy Company de- 
termined to attempt the establishment of trading relations 
in the region suggested by him. 

There were at this time several advantages to be de- 
rived from the development of the Persian trade. In the 
first place, the fact that the best silk producing provinces, 
Shirvan, Grhilan, and Mazanderan, were in northern Persia, 
in immediate proximity to the Caspian Sea and thus easily 
accessible from Russia, promised to the English merchants 

i Early Voyages and Travels, I, 108. 

142 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 143 

an advantage over the Portuguese whose harbors for the 
exportation of that valuable commodity were several hun- 
dred miles distant from the source of supply. In the sec- 
ond place, the advantage of such trading relations was 
enhanced by the ever-present possibility of war between 
Turkey and Persia, the two rival Mohammedan states, and 
of the consequent closing of the usual lines by which 
European wares reached the latter. And finally, with 
Persia as a new base of operations, it was hoped that the 
English merchants might push on by caravan towards the 
Persian Gulf and India and thus divert the much-desired 
products of the south from the Portuguese to the Russo- 
Caspian route. As Ormuz was so much nearer than 
Cathay, the advantages of this plan over the previous one 
were very evident. That such an overland route towards 
India now became an ultimate aim of the Muscovy Com- 
pany will clearly appear in the course of the narrative of 
the successive expeditions from Astrakhan southward over 
the Caspian Sea. 

During the period from 1561 to 1581 there were six 
of these " voyages" or expeditions sent out by the English 
merchants and the Persian trade was prosecuted with cour- 
age and perseverance in the face of the most serious diffi- 
culties and discouragements. It is believed that these ex- 
peditions are worthy of being better known, especially as 
they illustrate so well the exploring and commercial activi- 
ties of the age, and it is the purpose of this and the fol- 
lowing chapters to describe them as clearly as possible, 
though primarily from the economic rather than from the 
geographical point of view. 

As was most fitting, Anthony Jenkinson, now in the 
service of the Queen as well as of the Muscovy Company, 2 
was commissioned to carry out the new project. Once 
more Elizabeth wrote to the Czar in his behalf, requesting 

2 Hakluyt, III, 5. 



144 TRADE IN ASIA 

for him freedom and safe conduct in passing through the 
Russian dominions. She also made request that the Czar 
commend Jenkinson to other foreign princes and especially 
"to the Great Sophie, and Emperor of Persia, into whose 
Empire and Jurisdictions, the same our servant purposeth 
with his for to journey chiefly for triall of forreine mer- 
chandizes. " 3 At the same time Elizabeth sent a letter 
to the Shah, in which she announced Jenkinson 's purpose, 
assured him that the enterprise was grounded only upon 
the honest intent of establishing trade with his subjects 
and with other strangers trading in his realm, and re- 
quested that he give passports and protection to the trav- 
eler for himself, his servants, and his merchandise, so that 
he might go about freely in the Persian dominions. She 
concluded with the hope that, if friendly relations were 
established between them, these small beginnings would 
lead to great results, to the honor as well as to the profit 
of both kingdoms. 4 

The instructions 5 issued by the Muscovy Company fur- 
nish an excellent view of the preparations, the necessary 
procedure, and the purposes of the expedition. According 
to these instructions, Jenkinson was to proceed to Russia, 
present the Company's gift and the .Queen's letters to 
the Czar, and then make request for license and safe con- 
duct to pass to and from Persia, or other lands, with what- 
ever merchandise he desired to carry with him. Further- 
more, if considered advisable by Jenkinson and the factors 
in Russia, an agreement was to be made with the Czar 
concerning the payment of a certain amount of duty upon 
all goods thus passing through Russia, in order better to 
secure the imperial favor. This did not prove necessary, 
however, as the same object was served by the Czar's pe- 

aHakluyt, III, 5. 

4 IUd., Ill, 7-8. 

5 Ibid., Ill, 9-14. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 145 

cuniary interest in the voyage. Freedom of passage once 
obtained, Jenkinson should select such servants and ap- 
prentices of the Company as he desired for the expedition, 
and these were to be strictly subject to his orders. 

The wares proposed for the Persian market were not 
the same as those intended for Russia. To the latter coun- 
try the Company sent cloth of gold, plate, pearls, sap- 
phires, and other jewels, and these, even if not disposed 
of to advantage in Russia, were not to be taken to Persia, 
at least toi any great value. In addition to these, how- 
ever, there were placed on the ships eighty fardels, con- 
taining four hundred kersies, packed for the Persian trade, 
though it was considered desirable, if the market were 
favorable, to dispose of part of these in Russia, as the 
market in Persia or neighboring lands was as yet quite un- 
certain. Also Jenkinson was to take from Russia such 
kersies and other cloths as seemed to him suitable for 
Persia, and furthermore any desirable Russian commodi- 
ties were to be provided for him by the agents of the 
Company. 

When Persia was reached, Jenkinson 's instructions re- 
quired that he should proceed to the Shah's court to pro- 
cure letters of privilege which would serve as a basis for 
the future development of trade in that country. It was 
desired that this grant should include permission to the 
factors of the Muscovy Company to pass with their mer- 
chandise through Persia into India or adjacent countries, 
and in like manner to return. 

There are two characteristics of these instructions that 
are worthy of special mention. In the first place, they 
gave to Jenkinson great power and discretion in the selec- 
tion of wares and of servants, in the choice of routes, in 
the disposal of merchandise, and in other matters, thus 
showing a wise dependence upon the judgment of an ex- 
perienced and trusted agent. In the second place, the 



146 TRADE IN ASIA 

instructions reflect some uncertainty in regard to the pas- 
sage into Persia and the possibilities of the trade there. 
Thus, on the question of the passage, it is provided that, 
in case the journey proved impossible the following sum- 
mer, Jenkinson should try to dispose of the kersies and 
other wares in Russia and then employ himself in the 
search for a passage around Nova Zembla, 6 or else return 
to England. If the Russian market should prove to be 
poor and a passage to Persia in 1563 should seem to be 
reasonably sure, then he was to wait for a year and pro- 
ceed to Persia as planned. If both alternatives failed, he 
was then to carry his wares to Constantinople or wherever 
the market appeared most promising. 

On May 14, 1561, Jenkinson embarked at Gravesend, 
just two months later he reached St. Nicholas, and by 
August 20 he was in Moscow. 7 It was only after some de- 
lay and considerable dispute that he was permitted to 
present in person his letters to the Czar, and then his re- 
quest concerning passage into Persia was denied. 8 He 
disposed of the greater part of the wares intended for 
Persia and was on the point of returning to England when 
the intervention of Osep Napea 9 secured for him a recon- 
sideration, with the result that he received not only free- 

« They also suggested that Richard Johnson be employed in the 
same direction: "because the Eusses say that in travelling East- 
wardes from Colmogro thirty or forty dayes journey, there is the 
maine sea to be found, we thinke that Richard Johnson might 
employ his time that way by land, and to be at Mosco time 
enough to goe with you into Persia." Hakluyt, III, 14. 

7 This is the eighth of the voyages to Russia under the auspices 
of the English merchants. Ibid., Ill, 9. 

s The ostensible reason for refusal was a proposed military ex- 
pedition to Circassia, but Jenkinson suspected other motives. Ibid., 
Ill, 17. 

9 In 1557 Osep Napea had been Russian ambassador to England 
and had returned with Jenkinson on the latter's first voyage. For 
an interesting account of his reception in England, see Ibid., 
II, 354-357. See also Machin, Diary, 127, 130, 132, and Acts of 
Privy Council, (1556-8), 27, 52, 55-57. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 147 

dom of passage and letters of commendation to foreign 
princes but also certain commissions from the Czar him- 
self. Again preparing for the expedition, he departed 
from Moscow on April 27, 1562, in company with the am- 
bassador of Persia. 10 Upon reaching Astrakhan, the ship 
for the Caspian voyage was prepared, and on July 15 Jen- 
kinson and his company set sail, for a time under convoy 
of two Russian brigantines as a protection against pirates. 
This time the course was to the southward along the west- 
ern shore of the Caspian. Successful in surmounting the 
usual dangers of navigation, shoals, storms, and robbers, 
Jenkinson landed at Derbend, an important port and fron- 
tier fortress of the Persians. The final landing place, how- 
ever, was at Shabran, midway between Derbend and Baku, 
which was reached two days later. Here the ship was un- 
loaded and the preparations made for the inland journey, 
during the course of which the governor at Shabran 
showed his friendliness to Jenkinson by appointing a guard 
of forty armed men for his protection against rovers. On 
August 12 word came from the ruler of Shirvan that 
Jenkinson should be permitted to proceed on the journey 
to Shemakha. He reached that place August 18, and two 
days later was admitted to the presence of Abdullah Khan 
at his court twenty miles outside the city, being there 
well received and invited to dine in the royal presence. 11 
During the dinner Abdullah Khan questioned him con- 
cerning his country and religion, the relative power of the 
Emperor, the Czar, and the Great Turk, and various other 
things, and then demanded to know the cause of his com- 

io Jenkinson's account of the expedition, including the voyage from 
England to Moscow, is given in Hakluyt, III, 15-38, or in Early 
Voyages and Travels, I, 121-156. The latter gives in the notes a 
few instances of different readings in the M88. in the Hatfield and 
the Helmingham Hall collections. 

11 Hakluyt, III, 21-22. To dine in the royal presence was a 
mark of favor, both in Russia and Asia. Various other instances 
might be given, as Ibid., II, 227-229, II, 420, 421, III, 47 ? etc. 



148 TRADE IN ASIA 

ing and his ultimate destination, all of which he appar- 
ently answered to the Khan's satisfaction. In the end 
he was promised not only freedom of passage but also a 
bodyguard to conduct him to the Shah at Kazvin, a thirty 
days' journey distant. Before dismissing Jenkinson the 
Khan showed him further favors, the most important of 
w T hich was freedom from custom for all of his merchandise. 12 
Thus, the beginning of the Persian venture was all that 
Jenkinson could desire, and his success seemed to promise 
well for a favorable reception from the Shah. 

While at Shemakha Jenkinson outlined the arguments 
by which he hoped to win the favor of the Persian ruler. 
That these arguments were based squarely upon the idea 
of common hostility to the Turks is clearly shown by the 
following statement of the case. The English, not being 
friendly with the Turks, are not permitted to pass through 
Turkish territory into Persia, while the Venetians, in 
league with them and enjoying certain privileges, are able 
through them to supply the Shah's dominions with English 
goods. If it should please the Shah to grant to the Eng- 
lish merchants privileges similar to those granted by the 
Turks to the Venetians, a great and profitable trade would 
in all probability result; the Persians would be supplied 
with the English commodities and also have a market for 
their own products, ' ' although there never came Turke into 
the land. ' ' 13 Abdullah Khan, it is said, was so well pleased 
with the policy thus outlined that he wrote to the Shah 

isHakluyt, III, 22. 

13 Ibid., Ill, 28. It is hardly necessary to point out that 
Jenkinson's argument does not accurately represent the situation. 
Venice had made peace with the Turks in 1540, and for the next 
thirty years tried to avoid warfare as a means of self-protection. 
Soon after 1566 the Turks began to plan the capture of Cyprus, 
which was actually taken in 1571. Thus, though the two coun- 
tries were at peace at the time Jenkinson went to Persia, the Turk 
was nevertheless the greatest enemy of the Venetians. Brown, 
Venice. 362-371, 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 149 

in regard to it, and at the same time he assured Jenkinson 
that his request would meet with a satisfactory answer. 

The province of Shirvan, which was destined for the 
next few years to be so closely connected with the activi- 
ties of the Muscovy Company in western Asia, was ruled 
over by Abdullah Khan, though in subordination to the 
Shah of Persia. It is described as being in a state of 
decline, due largely to its subjection and to the many wars 
fought between the Turks and Persians for its possession. 
Shemakha, though still the most important town, was much 
decayed, while Arrash was becoming a wealthy trading 
center and the chief mart for raw silk, being resorted to 
by Turkish, Syrian, Russian, and other foreign merchants. 
The most important commodities of Shirvan were gall nuts, 
cotton, alum, and especially raw silk, and, in addition, 
small quantities of drugs, spices, and other products, 
brought thither from India. 14 

After providing camels, horses, and other necessaries 
for his journey, Jenkinson on October 16 left Shemakha 
to seek the Persian ruler. His route to Kazvin was by way 
of Jevat and Ardebil and thence for ten days through the 
Elburz mountains. Upon his arrival, November 2, 1562, 
he was given lodgings near the royal palace and in due 
time was entertained by a son of Abdullah Khan at the 
command of the Shah. However, his request for an op- 
portunity to present Elizabeth's letter met with the re- 
sponse that great affairs were in hand and that he must 
wait until they were finished, though in the meantime he 
could get his present ready for the Shah. 

The "great affaires" proved to be negotiations between 
the Sultan and the Shah for a permanent peace, the 
Turkish ambassador having reached Kazvin four days be- 
fore Jenkinson 's arrival, and shortly thereafter the peace 
was duly sworn to, 15 a result that had disastrous conse- 

i4Hakluyt, III, 24. 

is Ibid., Ill, 27, 28 ; Malcolm, History of Persia, I, 332. 



150 TRADE IN ASIA 

quences for the English mission to Persia. For one thing 
it was a serious obstacle to the further presentation of the 
arguments given at Shemakha, Moreover, the Turkish 
merchants in Persia at once began to insist that Jenkin- 
son's arrival was inimical to their trade and consequently 
they demanded that the Shah should refuse to show him 
any favor, apparently making this question a test of the 
new treaty of friendship and alliance. 16 Evidently the 
Turkish merchants saw that their exclusive control of the 
northern outlets of the Persian trade was threatened by 
the English movement through Eussia. 

When, on November 20, Jenkinson was finally admitted 
to an audience with the Shah, 17 the result of the hostile 
influences at the court was very clearly shown. Follow- 
ing Jenkinson 's presentation of his gifts and letters and 
the statement of the object of his mission to Persia the 
usual questioning began, in the course of which the Shah 
finally turned to the question of religion and demanded 
of him whether he was an unbeliever or a Mussulman. 
Upon his admission that he was a Christian, the Shah 
repudiated all thought of friendship with a confessed un- 
believer, and so commanded him to depart from his pres- 
ence. Thus matters stood for a time. Finally, it was 
decided that Jenkinson should neither be received with 
friendliness nor dismissed with favor; inasmuch as he was 
a "Frank" and of a nation hostile to the Turks, it was 
feared that any other treatment might displease the Sultan 
and lead to the breaking of the lately concluded peace. 
Furthermore, it seemed to the Shah that there was no ad- 

leHakluyt, III, 29, 31. 

17 Eden, History of Travayle, 323, 324, says it was Abdullah Khan's 
influence alone that obtained even this much attention. It was 
argued that Christians were mortal enemies of the Turks and Per- 
sians and their religion. Abdullah Khan himself stated that both 
the merchants and the holy men (?) were opposed to Jenkinson. 
Hakluyt, III, 33. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 151 

vantage in friendship with unbelievers whose country was 
so far away, and that the best thing to do was to send 
Jenkinson to the Great Turk as a present. 18 Fortunately 
for Jenkinson, however, his friend Abdullah Khan inter- 
fered in his behalf, with the result that on March 30, 1563, 
he was permitted to withdraw from Kazvin in safety. 

Thus it was brought home to the sanguine pioneer of 
trade that the difficulties with which he must contend were 
much more numerous and varied than merely those of a 
physical and economic nature. Religion, political affilia- 
tions, the complications of distant international alliances, 
the exigencies of war and the intrigues of rival merchants, 
all entered into the intricate problem and made more diffi- 
cult its solution. 

On the return journey from Kazvin to Shemakha Jen- 
kinson met Abdullah Khan at Jevat and received from him 
letters of safe conduct and a grant of privileges for the 
English merchants, together with other marks of that 
ruler's favor. While delayed at Shemakha to provide 
camels for the journey to the sea, he sent men on before 
to repair the ship and have it in readiness. Also he sent 
his companion, Edward Clark, to Arrash, with a com- 
mission to proceed from there into Georgia for the purpose 
of establishing trading relations with that country. When 
Clark was approaching the Georgian frontier, however, the 
discovery that he was a Christian threatened to prevent 
the success of the undertaking, and so he returned to 
Shemakha. 19 Jenkinson arrived at Astrakhan with his mer- 
chandise on May 30, and at Moscow nearly three months 
later, where he spent the following winter, that of 1563- 
1564. 

In accordance with the Czar's command, all the mer- 
chandise from Persia was taken to the imperial treasury 

isHakluyt, III, 31. 
is Ibid., Ill, 34. 



152 TRADE IN ASIA 

to be opened. Fortunately those wares purchased under 
commission from the Czar, that is, precious stones and 
wrought silks of various sorts and colors, proved satisfac- 
tory to him. Those belonging to the Company, coarse 
linens, raw silks, and other merchandise, were either stored 
in their warehouse in Moscow or sent to England. As the 
Czar seemed especially well pleased with Jenkinson's con- 
duct of "the princes affaires" that had been committed 
to his charge, the latter took advantage of the situation to 
ask in behalf of the Company for a new and fuller grant 
of privileges, which was immediately promised and later 
obtained under his Majesty's seal. 20 During the winter, 
also, Jenkinson organized a second expedition for Persia 
to be sent out under another representative of the Com- 
pany the following spring. On June 28, 1564, he himself 
left Moscow, and on September 28 reached London after 
an absence of nearly three years and a half. 21 

On the whole, this second voyage of Jenkinson must 
be regarded, like the first, as failing in its purpose, for 
the two main objects of his mission, the establishment of 
a trade with Persia and of a route to India, had not been 
accomplished and apparently their attainment had been 
made improbable by the treaty between the Shah and 
the Sultan. There are some indications, however, that at 
heart the former was favorably disposed towards Jenkinson 
and the English merchants. Aside from the open and ef- 

20 Hakluyt, III, 33, 37. There seems to be no further record of 
any such privileges, though Jenkinson here speaks of two copies 
being made. 

21 Arthur Edwards, Jenkinson's chief successor, thus wrote to 
the Company regarding him: "Master Anthonie Jenkinson hath 
deserved great commendation at all your worships hands; for the 
good report of his well and wise doings in those parts [Persia], 
was oftentimes a comfort to me to heare thereof, and some good help 
to me in my proceedings." Ibid., Ill, 63. The grants of the 
Czar and Shah in 1567 show that Jenkinson shortly became a mem- 
ber of the Company. Ibid., Ill, 64, 93. 



ESTABLISHMENT OP PERSIAN TRADE 153 

fective friendship of Abdullah Khan, reference may be 
made to the fact that after Jenkinson's dismissal from 
Kazvin orders had come from the Shah to entertain him 
well, and further to Jenkinson's belief that the Shah him- 
self intended to receive him favorably and would have 
done so except for the conclusion of the treaty. 22 The 
conditions surely were not as discouraging to the Company 
as they seem to a later student, for the next year another 
agent of the Muscovy Company made the journey to Kaz- 
vin on a similar mission. 

The voyage itself, however, was by no means a complete 
failure. For one thing Jenkinson brought back a much 
fuller knowledge of the lands to the south of the Caspian 
Sea and of the political and commercial conditions pre- 
vailing there. It was something, also, that Ivan IV was 
favorably disposed to the undertaking and even committed 
to it through his interest in its results. Then, too, in spite 
of unfavorable conditions, considerable merchandise had 
been brought back from Persia, though it is impossible to 
say whether or not the expedition proved financially profit- 
able. But after all, although the English merchants had 
not received permission to enter Persia itself they had ob- 
tained from Abdullah Khan, a valuable grant of priv- 
ileges for trade in the province of Shirvan, as a result of 
which they were assured of an excellent starting point for 
future expeditions. This grant of privileges, obtained 
April 14, 1563, is brief though comprehensive. 23 It gave 
to the "companie of merchants Adventurers of the Citie 
of London ' ' the following privileges : license and safe con- 
duct to trade in Shirvan with both the Persian and the 
foreign merchants, freedom from the payment of custom 
on any wares bought or sold in that country, and finally, 
assurance that, if any of their wares were taken for the 

22Hakluyt, III, 33. 
23 Ibid., Ill, 39, 40. 



154 TRADE IN ASIA 

Khan's treasury, the treasurer would pay full value for 
them, either in ready money or in raw silk. 

As a result of these privileges, therefore, the expedition 
organized by Jenkinson upon his return to Moscow was 
enabled to set out with certain definite advantages over 
the preceding one. For this second Persian "voyage" 
Thomas Alcock, George "Wren, and Richard Cheinie, were 
appointed as factors, the first named being placed in 
charge. 24 Starting from Jaroslav, May 10, 1564, 25 they 
arrived at Astrakhan on July 24 and at Shemakha on 
August 12. Abdullah Khan received them with the same 
friendliness that he had shown to Anthony Jenkinson. 
At Shemakha Alcock sold some of his merchandise and 
then, on October 20, proceeded to Kazvin, leaving Cheinie 
to collect the various sums due for the wares. The lat- 
ter, however, was unable to recover very many of these 
debts, and so Alcock, upon his return, made earnest suit 
at court for their recovery. But Abdullah Khan was dis- 
pleased because of the murder of a Mohammedan by a 
foreign merchant and there seemed no hope of any favor 
from him. Hearing that the Russians were sending their 
goods to the seashore for fear that the Shah should hear 
of the murder, Alcock ordered Cheinie to take charge of 
the goods brought from Kazvin to Shemakha, while he re- 
mained at court. Three days later the news reached 
Shemakha that Alcock had been killed on his way to that 

24 They were chosen by Jenkinson and Thomas Glover, the agent 
of the Muscovy Company in Russia. Hakluyt, III, 37, 38, 40. The 
account of the voyage was written by Richard Cheinie, though later 
than 1565, as the reference to Richard Johnson, Ibid., Ill, 43, proves. 
Strangely enough this and the later voyages have all been at- 
tributed to Jenkinson's own leadership by various writers from 
Anderson, History of Commerce, II, 105, to Cawston and Keane, 
Early Chartered Companies, 36. 

25 Cheinie, as quoted by Hakluyt, says 1563, but there is little 
doubt that 1564 is correct. See Jenkinson's statement, Hakluyt, 
III, 37-38. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 155 

place. 26 Being now responsible for the safety of the mer- 
chandise, Cheinie immediately followed the example of the 
Russian traders by sending his merchandise to the sea 
and thence to Russia, while he remained at Shemakha for 
six weeks in an endeavor to collect the debts due him, in 
which he was only partly successful. 

Though impressed with the possibilities of the Persian 
trade and recommending that it be followed up, 27 Cheinie 
felt called upon to criticize certain abuses that revealed 
themselves in the conduct of the expedition. For one 
thing he complained because information in regard to the 
preparations for the journey was withheld from him; also 
he was unable to tell what stock the Company had, as ' ' the 
bookes were kept so privilie that a man could never see 
them." But his greatest indignation was reserved for the 
practice of private trading, by means of which, as he claims, 
others reaped the fruit of his labor. Thomas Glover had 
in the venture over a hundred roubles, Thomas Pette fifty 
roubles, Richard Johnson twenty roubles, and a certain 
Tartar seventy roubles, all of whom got their returns before 
Cheinie got back from Persia. Besides, the Czar was in- 
terested in the voyage; though it is not known how much 
money he furnished, Cheinie expresses the opinion that he 
received double, and perhaps treble, on his investment. It 
is his opinion also that neither Ivan IV nor the private 
traders paid any part of the expense of the expedition. 28 
From these statements, therefore, it is clear that the Per- 
sian venture was not exempt from the quarreling and the 
private trading that proved to be the bane of the Muscovy 

26 The reason for his murder is not known. According to Ar- 
thur Edwards, some thought it due to a debtor he was pressing for 
payment, others attributed it to robbers. Later the Company ap- 
parently without foundation, attributed it to quarreling with the 
people. Hakluyt, III, 49; Early Voyages and Travels, II, 216, 217. 

27Hakluyt, III, 43. 

zslbid., Ill, 40, 42, 43. 



156 TRADE IN ASIA 

Company in Russia as well as of most of the other early 
commercial companies in the various countries with which 
they traded. 

In the spring of 1565, under the direction of Thomas 
Glover, preparations were under way for a third expedi- 
tion, whether the result of a now settled policy on the part 
of the Company or due to the favorable reports of Richard 
Cheinie there seem to be no indications. Edward Clark 
was first chosen as the agent for Persia, but upon his death 
Richard Johnson, a much less satisfactory man, was ap- 
pointed to the place, and with him were associated Alex- 
ander Kitchin and Arthur Edwards. 29 At Jaroslav, the 
starting point, wares were collected from Vologda and 
Moscow, and other necessary preparations were made. A 
small bark of thirty tons burden had been built at that 
place for the voyage on the Volga and the Caspian Sea; 
it was built after the English fashion, but proved to be 
too small for the purposes of the Persian trade. 30 

The three factors, leaving Jaroslav on May 15, 1565, 
and Astrakhan on July 30, reached the desired port in 
Shirvan, August 23, where they anchored their bark in 
a small river and secured camels for the journey to 
Shemakha. Upon reaching that place, on September 11, 
they met with an even more friendly reception from Ab- 
dullah Khan than the last year. They were given a house 
for their use, and were told to put all their requests in 
writing so that he might further understand their desires. 31 
But unfortunately Abdullah Khan died on October 2, 1565 ; 
by his death, not only did the English merchants lose a 
good friend but also the province of Shirvan was thrown 

29 Hakluyt, III, 44-46. In letters to the Company Arthur Ed- 
wards gives an account of the expedition. Four of these letters 
are printed in Hakluyt's collection, while two others, dated June 
24 and 29, are lacking, judging from the statement, Ibid., Ill, 61. 

so Hid., Ill, 45. 

si/fctd., Ill, 47. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 157 

into great confusion. This situation explains why it was 
impossible, at least for a time, to collect the debts due the 
Muscovy Company, and also why the trade did not prove 
as profitable as was expected. To add to the misfortunes 
of the expedition, Alexander Kitchin died on October 3; 
and previous to that the loss of one of the three mariners 
had also severely crippled the undertaking. 

It was the hope of the factors, however, that they might 
obtain privileges from the Shah, which, once granted to 
them, would enable them quietly and without hindrance to 
develop a considerable trade in raw silks, spices, drugs, 
and other commodities. Some influential though not disin- 
terested Persian friends having agreed to help Richard 
Johnson obtain the privileges and collect the debts, he 
ordered Arthur Edwards to go with them to Kazvin upon 
this double mission. On April 26, 1566, the latter set out 
for the Persian capital. His reception was in striking con- 
trast to that of Jenkinson several years before: the Shah 
received him most graciously, granted him a long confer- 
ence in which various topics bearing on trade were dis- 
cussed, and, having heard his requests, promised the de- 
sired letters of privilege. In addition, the Persian ruler 
made known his desire that the English merchants should 
send him various sorts of cloths. After the conference 
Edwards hastened to put his requests in writing so that 
they would be ready to submit at the next audience with 
the Shah. Thus, on June 29, he received a formal grant 
of privileges "sealed and firmed with the Shaugh's owne 
hand," with the promise that if it was not satisfactory it 
would be amended. 32 As a result of these marks of the 
Shah's favor, the position of Edwards and of the English 
merchants in Persia seemed greatly improved; and in his 
letter to the Company, written upon his return to She- 
makha, Edwards said ? "I doubt not but we shall live here 

32Hakluyt, III, 56. 



158 TRADE IN ASIA 

from hence foorth in quietnes, for now in all places where 
I come I am friendly used with the best. ' ' 33 

That the grant of privileges gave important trading ad- 
vantages to the English merchants is clearly shown by an 
enumeration of its provisions. In the first place, it was 
decreed that they should have freedom of passage to and 
from Persia and neighboring countries, that they should 
enjoy the right to buy and sell all sorts of wares and to 
trade with both foreign and native merchants, and that 
they should not be required to pay any toll or customs 
duties upon their merchandise. In the second place, they 
were promised protection from the officials, justice regard- 
ing the recovery of debts due them, immunity from the 
arbitrary seizure of their goods, exemption from liability 
for the misdeeds of individual merchants or servants, free- 
dom from the annoyance due to the repudiation of bar- 
gains once made, and aid when needed in the landing of 
their wares. 34 

Probably the explanation of the changed attitude of the 
Shah towards the English merchants is to be found in his. 
relations with the Turks. It is evident that he was much 
interested in the crushing defeat suffered by the Turkish 
army at Malta in the preceding year. 35 Also it is very 
probable that the treaty of peace with the Sultan had 
not been successful in maintaining friendly relations be- 
tween the two powers, as it is reported that the year before 
Edwards came to Kazvin the Turkish ambassador "did 
put the Shaugh in despaire, saying that the Turke would 
not permit any cloth to be brought into his Countrey. ' ' 36 
In addition to his resentment at this action, the Shah 

33Hakluyt, III, 56. 

s* These privileges, given in Edwards' letter from Astrakhan, 
June 16, 1567, were to be followed by further grants on the formal 
demand of the Company. Ibid., Ill, 56, 64, 65. 

35 Ibid., Ill, 54, 143. 

ss Ibid., Ill, 57. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 159 

would be inclined to welcome the English merchants as a 
means to offset any possible loss of merchandise through 
the closing of the customary route. 

However, the favor shown the English merchants did 
not by any means end the troubles of their factors in car- 
rying on the Persian trade. For one thing, as the suc- 
cession in Shirvan was still unsettled, the disorder became 
such that men feared to travel on account of robbers. In 
the face of this confusion, also, the Shah's grant of priv- 
ileges does not seem to have greatly facilitated the collec- 
tion of debts at Shemakha; nor, in fact, did it suffice to 
prevent the recurrence of similar difficulties at Kazvin, as 
is amply shown by Edwards' own experience. 37 Further- 
more, in their relations with each other the factors were 
not at all harmonious, the trouble apparently being due 
either to the inefficiency of Richard Johnson or to his 
neglect of his duties. The bills of debt that Johnson left 
with Edwards were very carelessly made out, two of them 
being without either the amounts or the names of the 
parties, while others, made payable to Johnson only, could 
not have been collected at all by Edwards had not the 
charter of privileges provided for such cases. In other 
respects Edwards found fault with Johnson's conduct of 
affairs; he claimed that the latter, contrary to the inten- 
tions of the Company, had kept him in ignorance of cer- 
tain details regarding both the preparations for the voyage 
and the wares bought and sold in Persia; he urged upon 
the Company the necessity of employing in Persia only 
servants who were honest and free from vice and who were 
able to govern themselves. 38 The following year the Mus- 
covy Company upheld these various contentions of Ed- 
wards. They criticized Johnson's action in withholding 
information and suggested that orders be given that all 

37Hakluyt, III, 59-61. 

38 Ibid., Ill, 45, 52, 59, 60. 



160 TRADE IN ASIA 

factors sent to Persia should have access to the accounts 
and reckonings ; and they expressed surprise that he should 
have been chosen as chief, as his own letters and report 
were sufficient to prove his unfitness for the charge. 39 

Arthur Edwards, like Anthony Jenkinson, labored ear- 
nestly in behalf of the interests of the Muscovy Company, 
studying the commercial possibilities of different regions, 
reporting in some detail upon the commodities most de- 
sirable for the Persian trade, and pointing out possible 
improvements in trading methods. He was very optimis- 
tic concerning the prospects at Shemakha, and expressed 
the wish that the Company had a market for the half of 
the merchandise there obtainable. After his favorable re- 
ception at Kazvin his enthusiasm naturally became greater 
and his views of the Persian trade were considerably ex- 
panded, the Shah apparently exerting himself to make 
the situation seem as attractive as possible. 40 In carrying 
out this prospective trade he thought it possible to shorten 
the time required to send merchandise from Persia to Eng- 
land. To that end he suggested that by early sales and 
a prompt collection of the silk that commodity might be 
sent to Astrakhan by April 1, and from thence to Khol- 
mogory in time to be loaded on the ships along with the 
wares sent from Russia. 41 Perhaps here, as in other mat- 
ters, Edwards was over-sanguine. 

Both Richard Cheinie and Arthur Edwards recom- 
mended the establishment of trading relations with Ghilan, 
a province on the southwestern coast of the Caspian, with 
which so far the English merchants had not come in con- 
tact. The former pointed out its commercial possibilities, 

39 Early Voyages and Travels, II, 218, 219. 

40 For instance, the Shah asked Edwards if he was able to furnish 
yearly one hundred thousand pieces of cloth. Also the latter sent 
home a long list of wares desired by him, but it is somewhat doubtful 
whether he took them ultimately/ Hakluyt, III, 56, 66, 67, 140. 

4i Ibid., Ill, 62. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 161 

its nearness to the Persian capital, and its advantage as a 
base for the advance towards Ormuz. In addition to these 
advantages, the latter suggested its situation in the very 
heart of the Persian trade and also its direct communica- 
tion with Astrakhan. As a result of a conference at Kaz- 
vin with an ambassador from Ghilan, Edwards believed 
that at small expense trading privileges could be obtained 
in that province. But more than that, his conclusion 
seems to have been that Ghilan should be made the center 
of English activities. 42 

It is evident from the account of the third Persian ex- 
pedition that in several respects it marks an important 
stage in the development of the plans of the Muscovy Com- 
pany. Not only were the English merchants re-estab- 
lished in Shirvan, following Cheinie's enforced with- 
drawal, but also the task undertaken by Jenkinson now 
seemed accomplished through the successful negotiation of 
a grant of privileges at Kazvin. Though too optimistic 
in his expectations Arthur Edwards might reasonably feel 
that he had laid the foundations for the Persian trade and 
that the Company would profit greatly by his labors. 
Once established in Persia the next step, namely, the open- 
ing of a route to Ormuz and India might well seem to be 
only a matter of time. As far as Persia is concerned, 
therefore, the affairs of the Muscovy Company, by 1566, 
promised well for the future success of the English trade. 

42 Hakluyt, III, 43, 51, 61, 62. 



CHAPTER III 

THE ATTEMPTED DEVELOPMENT OP THE PERSIAN TRADE 

While the factors of the Muscovy Company were lay- 
ing the foundations for trade in Persia, there were certain 
developments in England and Russia which had an im- 
portant bearing on that undertaking as well as on the po- 
sition of the Company itself. In the history of the Com- 
pany, the year 1566 is marked by two noteworthy events: 
first, the grant of privileges by the Shah which seemed to 
put the Persian trade on a reasonably firm footing and, 
second, the obtaining of an act of Parliament reincor- 
porating the group of English merchants and adding to 
their privileges. As the Shah's grant has already been 
considered, it remains only to notice the new act of incor- 
poration and the circumstances leading to its passage. 

It seems that the demands of the trade in Russia and 
the development of the overland route through Persia 
proved to be a severe strain upon the resources of the 
Muscovy Company, especially as a greater number of 
ships were needed to keep pace with their activities. As 
a consequence it was desired to make a considerable in- 
crease in the stock, but on account of discouragment due 
to private trading through Narva the Adventurers could 
not be persuaded to make this increase. Therefore, on 
November 20, 1564, a petition was presented to the Coun- 
cil requesting that William Bond and all other private 
traders be restrained from trading within the Russian do- 
minions, and the following month the Council made an 
order to that effect. 1 In the following year the profitable 

i Cal. S. P. Bom., 1547-1580, p. 246 ; Acts of Privy Council, 1558- 
1570, under date of Dec. 14 and 16, 1564. 

162 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 163 

trade enjoyed by the Company through Narva was being 
further affected by such straggling merchants, and so the 
request was made that that port be definitely included 
within the sphere of the Muscovy Company in order to 
prevent ' ' the like pedlarlike kinde of dealing ever after. ' ' 2 
To a considerable degree at least the Parliamentary act 
of incorporation, passed on December 17, 1566, 3 was an 
answer to the demands for the restraint of private trading 
in Russia. After reviewing the earlier history of the Mus- 
covy Company, its expenses and losses, and its achieve- 
ments, the act declared for one thing that the official title 
of the Company was too long, and also that certain sub- 
jects of England, contrary to letters patent, had been 
trading in the Russian dominions, to the great injury of 
the trade of the fellowship. In regard to the first point, 
it was enacted that henceforth the Company should be 
known only by the name of "the fellowship of English 
merchants, for discovery of new trades," and that as such 
it should exercise its corporate functions. 4 Concerning 
the second point, the act provided that no lands unknown 
or unfrequented by Englishmen before the first Russian 
voyage, either in Russia or the "countries of Armenia ma- 
jor or minor Media, Hyrcania, Persia, or the Caspian 
sea," should be open to the trade of English subjects, un- 
less by the consent of the said fellowship of English mer- 
chants. 5 Private traders with ventures in the forbidden 
region were given until 1568 to withdraw. Thus, in form 
at least, the monopoly of the Muscovy Company was duly 
asserted. 6 

2 Wheeler, Treatise of Commerce, 55. Narva became Russian in 
1558, and remained under Ivan's control until 1581. 

3 D'Ewes, Journal, 133. Statutes of the Realm, IV, part 1, p. 483, 
shows that it was merely a private bill. The Act is printed, Hakluyt, 
III, 83-91. 

*Ibid., III, 87. 

5 Ibid., Ill, 88. 

6 See Gerson, The Organization and Early History of the Muscovy 



164 TEADE IN ASIA 

Meanwhile, Anthony Jenkinson was again in Russia in 
the service of the English merchants in order to meet 
other dangers that threatened their privileged commercial 
position. Two years previously, Raphael Barbarini, an 
Italian, had received from Queen Elizabeth letters com- 
mending him to the Czar. He was well received and 
shown much favor, and in 1565 he obtained trading privi- 
leges in Russia. Consequently the Muscovy Company felt 
it necessary to attempt his overthrow. In addition to this 
task Jenkinson was instructed to request the Czar to con- 
firm the monopoly of the Company by excluding all for- 
eign merchants except the English from the trade to the 
White Sea. 7 In both respects he seems to have been very 
successful; Barbarini withdrew from Russia, and a pro- 
vision for the exclusive control of the northern trade was 
included in the new grant of privileges obtained by Jen- 
kinson in the following year. 8 

This new and fuller grant of privileges, signed by the 
Czar on September 22, 1567, contains a passage which 
definitely outlined and extended the privileges actually en- 
joyed by the English traders in the prosecution of the 
Persian trade. It was provided that, if the English mer- 
chants desired to pass from Astrakhan to Bokhara, 
Shemakha, or elsewhere, the Russian officials should per- 
mit them to do so, without delay, without payment of cus- 
tom, and without opening their goods, even when they did 
not have the Czar's merchandise with them. 9 

As a result of the various grants of privileges obtained 
by them, the Muscovy Company, by 1567, occupied a much 

Company, for a strong statement of the view that Narva really was 
included in their sphere under the terms of the original charter. 

7 Tolstoy, England and Russia, Nos. 6-8 ; Hamel, England and 
Russia, 170-176, and appendices KtoE; Early Voyages and Travels, 
II, 183-186. 

s Hakluyt, III, 97. 

9 Ibid., Ill, 94, 95. 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 165 

stronger position than heretofore. According to the Par- 
liamentary charter of incorporation the members of the 
Company were upheld in their monopoly of the Russian 
and Persian trade as far as Englishmen were concerned; 
according to the Czar's grant of privileges they were con- 
firmed in their exclusive use of the northern ports of 
Russia, not only against other Englishmen but against 
all other foreigners as well, and, in addition, they were 
formally given the right of passage through Russia to 
Persia and other countries; and finally, through the privi- 
leges secured from Abdullah Khan and later from the 
Shah himself, they seemed prepared to develop a trade in 
Persia and to open the way to India. 

That the English merchants were strongly interested 
in Persia and India at this time is well shown by the in- 
structions sent out to their agents in Russia a few months 
after the granting of the second act of incorporation. 
These instructions 10 are somewhat detailed and cover a 
wide range ; it is sufficient, however, to note that they seem 
to imply an attempt to reorganize and strengthen the man- 
agement of affairs in both Russia and Persia and to do 
away with many abuses that had revealed themselves 
therein as well as to direct the usual operations of the 
trade. In regard both to Persia and Russia it was or- 
dered that a just statement of weights and measures be 
sent home for purposes of comparison with those of Eng- 
land, that a uniformity of apparel be prescribed for the 
servants of the Company in order to put an end to their 
extravagance in dress, that all Englishmen in their serv- 
ice be advised against giving offense in regard to any 
question of religion or government, that wares delivered 
to servants for apparel or to strangers for gifts be truly 
valued and charged to the proper account, that private 
traffic be prevented, especially between Russia and Persia, 

10 Early Voyages and Travels, II, 206-227. 



166 TRADE IN ASIA 

that as soon as possible the factors send to the Company a 
statement concerning the value and location of the prop- 
erty and goods then in Russia and a similar statement con- 
cerning the wares belonging to the Persian account, and 
that thereafter an annual report be rendered for the Per- 
sian trade. In regard to the Persian voyage it was 
further ordered that all the factors should have access to 
the accounts and reckonings, both for the avoidance of 
false dealing and for the gaining of experience, and that 
each year a true report of the trade should be sent to the 
Company. Still other provisions had as their object the 
greater safety of the Persian route; charts were to be 
made of the Volga and the Caspian Sea and written re- 
ports were to be made both in regard to the outward and 
the homeward voyages so that by comparison from year to 
year the dangers of navigation might be lessened. 11 

It is further shown by the instructions that the Muscovy 
Company were already planning two Persian expeditions 
for the following year, one of them to start from England 
and the other from Russia. In regard to the latter the 
Company expressed the wish that Arthur Edwards, who 
had been recalled from Persia, should be retained as the 
chief factor for that country, though the matter was left 
to the discretion of the Russian agents. 12 It was also de- 
sired by the English merchants that this expedition should 
pay considerable attention to the development of a trade 
in drugs and spices. When they obtained their charter 
from Parliament the merchants had taken upon themselves 
the obligation to furnish those commodities to England, 

11 Articles 15, 23, 28, 32, 38, 41, 46, 57, 58, and 60. In the 
middle of the eighteenth century Englishmen actually did consider- 
able work in charting the route in connection with an attempted 
revival of the Persian trade. See, for example, the chart of the 
Caspian and the description and map of the Volga, given in Han- 
way, Historical Account of the British Trade over the Caspian Sea, 
1, 87, 93-95. 

12 Articles 16, 51. 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 167 

and consequently they exhorted their factors to use all 
care and diligence in furthering such a trade. 13 As a 
means to that end they adopted two recommendations 
made by Edwards during the preceding voyage : they pro- 
posed to enter into negotiations with the ruler of Ghilan 
in the hope of obtaining the desired commodities as well 
as a grant of trading privileges for that province; they 
also suggested a journey to Ormuz to investigate its trade 
and to attempt the establishment of commercial relations 
with its merchants. For the latter purpose John Sparke 
was designated as a suitable man on account of his ability 
to speak Portuguese. 14 

The Persian expedition of 1568 was organized at Jaro- 
slav and placed in charge of Arthur Edwards, as the Eng- 
lish merchants had requested, with John Sparke, Lawrence 
Chapman, Christopher Faucet, and Richard Pringle, as 
his associates. 15 Leaving Jaroslav in July, they reached 
Bilbil on August 14. At this place, contrary to the 
Shah's grant, the people were unwilling to aid in unload- 
ing the merchandise ; also they began their customary prac- 
tices of extortion when they saw the travelers at their 
mercy. Upon reaching Shemakha, the Englishmen found 
there no opportunities of trade on account of their late 
arrival, and because of their delay for a month other mer- 
chants, who had left Russia later, were able to get the ad- 
vantage of them elsewhere. Finally it was decided that 
the factors should separate for the better sale of the goods ; 
consequently Edwards, Sparke, and Chapman went to 
Kazvin with the greater part of the merchandise, while 
Faucet and Pringle were left behind with the rest, which 

is Article 52. 

14 Articles 54, 55, 63. 

is Lawrence Chapman, in his letter of April 28, 1569, gives an 
account of the earlier part of the voyage. This is supplemented by- 
Edwards' account as given in the notes of Kichard Willes in Eden, 
History of Travayle. Both are printed in Hakluyt, III, 136-149. 



168 TRADE IN ASIA 

was intended for the market at Shemakha and Arrash. 

At Ardebil Edwards was able to do some trading. As 
the important commercial city of Tabriz was not far dis- 
tant, Chapman was sent to make trial of the market there. 
He found that his kersies would not bring a good price, 
as the cloth trade was well supplied by Armenian, Turkish, 
and native merchants. However, he succeeded in barter- 
ing the kersies for spices, a transaction which he thought 
to be a fairly good bargain, especially in view of the clos- 
ing of Ormuz by war and the strong desire of the Com- 
pany for such commodities. As for drugs, he says that 
he found an abundance at Tabriz, but that they were very 
high and not as good as those brought to England from 
other places. While there Chapman also made an excel- 
lent sale of one hundred pieces of cloth to a merchant rep- 
resenting the ruler of Georgia, who not only offered pay- 
ment in money or silk upon their delivery but also held 
out the prospect of trading privileges in that country sim- 
ilar to those enjoyed in Persia. Chapman sent his inter- 
preter to Shemakha to see to the carrying out of this 
agreement, but unfortunately the merchant repudiated the 
bargain without any regard to that provision of the Shah's 
grant of privileges which forbade such practices. 16 

After joining Edwards at Kazvin, Chapman was sent 
to Ghilan to look for a good harbor and also to determine 
what commodities would be best for the proposed trade 
in that region. He visited Lahijan, the chief town, 
Langerud, and Rudisser, and reported that that portion 
of the province had recently been overrun and despoiled 1 
by the Shah, so that the people were not able to buy a 
single kersey. However, his statements regarding the 
abundance of alum and raw silk amply confirmed the 
earlier reports about the resources of Ghilan. 17 

ie Hakluyt, III, 138, 139. 
n IMd., Ill, 141. 



DEVELOPMENT OP PERSIAN TRADE 169 

The further plan of the Company to send a factor to 
Ormuz was not carried out. Though John Sparke pre- 
sumably was sent out especially with that purpose in view, 
and though Chapman announced his purpose of going 
there as soon as the way was open/ 8 there seems to be no 
record of any such attempt. Probably the fact that 
Ormuz was closed during the whole period of this expe- 
dition is at least a partial explanation of the failure to 
take this important step in advance. 

Meanwhile Arthur Edwards presented himself before 
the Shah at Kazvin with a request for further privileges 
for the English merchants. The latter demanded of him 
what sort of merchandise he could furnish, whereupon 
Edwards claimed to be able to supply him directly from 
England with all the wares that came to his country from 
there indirectly by way of Venice, Aleppo, and Tripoli, 
namely, kersies, broadcloths, and other kinds of cloth. 19 
Furthermore, he declared that, if given freedom of passage 
and such other privileges as were deemed necessary, he 
would furnish all such merchandise, and other commodi- 
ties as well, more cheaply and with less delay than they 
were now furnished through the Venetian and Turkish 
route. The Shah, it is said, was well pleased at this, and 
shortly afterwards he granted to Edwards a second letter 
of privileges, " all written in Azure and gold letters, and 
delivered unto the lord keeper of the Sophie his great 
seale," later to be sealed and turned over to Lawrence 
Chapman. 20 

This grant of privileges was mainly concerned with va- 
rious details of the Persian trade, being clearly intended 
as a supplement to the grant originally received from the 
Shah. The first article gave specific authorization to the 

isHakluyt, III, 142. 

10 Ibid., Ill, 144. 

wibid., Ill, 146-147; Eden, History of Travayle, 334-335. 



170 TRADE IN ASIA 

plan of the English merchants of developing trade with 
Ghilan. Then there followed provisions regarding Per- 
sian assistance in case of shipwreck, the cnstody and de- 
livery of the merchandise npon the death of any of the 
English traders, the right to procure without hindrance 
such camel men as were desired, the prohibition of extor- 
tion by the Persians and the responsibility of the owners 
of camels for their contracts and for the merchandise com- 
mitted to their care, the privilege of a guard for protec- 
tion when traveling was considered dangerous, the duty 
of all Persian subjects in the towns along the highway to 
furnish the merchants with "honest roume and vitails for 
their money," and, finally, the privilege of buying or 
building houses for their own use wherever desirable. It 
is very probable also that there was a provision designed 
to protect the Company against dishonest servants who 
hoped to avoid punishment or restitution of goods by be- 
coming Mohammedans, though such an article is not to 
be found in the formal list of privileges as printed, 21 

In concluding the account of the fourth voyage it seems 
worth while to compare the views of Arthur Edwards and 
Lawrence Chapman in regard to the commercial possibili- 
ties in Persia. The latter missed no opportunity to point 
out that Edwards had greatly exaggerated the advantages 
of the Persian markets, and furthermore, he indulged in 
considerable criticism of the latter 's management of the 
present venture. He called attention to the reported fail- 
ure to sell the goods left at Shemakha, to the overstocked 
condition of the market at Tabriz, to the secret enmity of 
the Turkish merchants and the methods by which they 
sought to hinder the English trade, to the failure of the 
Shah to take off Edwards' hands the merchandise he had 

21 Eden, History of Travayle, 334; Hakluyt, III, 145. For fur- 
ther explanation of the practice itself, see Ibid., Ill, 148, or Eden, 
335. 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 171 

ordered on the previous visit to Kazvin, and to the great 
disadvantages of travel, the scarcity and execrable qual- 
ity of the water, and the danger of robbery or murder at 
the hands of the people. " Better it is, therefore, in mine 
opinion, to continue a begger in England during life than 
to remaine a rich merchant seven yeeres in this countrey, 
as some shall well finde at theyr comming hither. ' ' 22 
Yet after all Chapman seems to admit that the trade in 
time would greatly improve. 

On the other hand Edwards seems to be as enthusiastic 
as he was on the previous expedition. His account was 
given after the return to England, while that of Chapman 
was written in the midst of the undertaking, and there- 
fore it may be that the ultimate results of the venture 
were much more favorable than for a while seemed prob- 
able, though at the same time it is undeniable that the 
attitude of the two factors was fundamentally different. 
In addition to the further privileges obtained from the 
Shah, it is reported that in return for his wares Edwards 
brought from Persia all sorts of raw and wrought silks, 
carpets, spices, drugs, pearls and other precious stones, 
and various other kinds of rich merchandise. Unfortu- 
nately, however, there is no hint as to whether the expedi- 
tion was financially a success. It is further reported that 
Edwards in his enthusiasm thought the Persian trade 
would prove greater than the Portuguese trade to the East 
Indies. He argued that the return might be made to 
England each year, whereas the Portuguese voyage took 
two years; consequently the merchandise of India could 
be carried more advantageously by way of Persia and 
Russia than by way of the Cape of Good Hope. 23 This 

22Hakluyt, III, 141. 

23 Ibid., Ill, 147, 148. Somewhat similar views were held by 
Michael Lok, London Agent of the Muscovy Company, and by Ban- 
nister and Duckett. Russia at Close of Sixteenth Century, introd. 
XII-XIV; Early Voyages and Travels, II, 260. For an even more 



172 TRADE IN ASIA 

is practically the same argument that he had already used 
in regard to the Levantine trade. 

While Edwards and his associates were seeking for 
trade in Persia the situation in Russia was rapidly be- 
coming critical for the Muscovy Company and conse- 
quently for the proposed expedition from England to Per- 
sia. There were two main sources of trouble, namely, the 
difficulties arising out of the trade at Narva and the in- 
sistence of the Czar upon an offensive and defensive al- 
liance with Elizabeth, and out of these questions grew 
the necessity for the Randolph mission and the request 
for a new grant of privileges for the Russian and the Per- 
sian trade. 

Of most importance perhaps was the diplomatic situa- 
tion. Upon his return to England in 1567, Jenkinson 
brought a secret message from the Czar to the Queen 
which seems to have been the beginning of the trouble. 
Offering perpetual friendship to Elizabeth, the Czar asked 
that she join him in an offensive and defensive alliance 
against all enemies, and especially against Sigismund II, 
King of Poland. He also requested that she send him 
sailors and shipwrights and that she permit him to export 
from England various sorts of military supplies. And 
furthermore, he demanded the giving of assurances that 
either of them would grant refuge and protection to the 
other in case misfortune should make such exile neces- 
sary. Finally he required that the Queen's answer be 
given by the middle of the following year. 24 

About the time of the Czar's secret message the affairs 
of the Muscovy Company were reaching a crisis on account 
of the developments at Narva. Though by 1567 the Com- 
pany had established a considerable trade at that place, 25 

extravagant statement regarding both Persia and Cathay see Cal. 
Cecil MSS., No. 1119. 

24 Early Voyages and Travels, II, 236-238. 

25 Ibid., II, 218. 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 173 

it seems to have been very unfortunate in its choice of 
factors, as the latter not only engaged in trade on their 
own account but also joined with outside English traders 
and with certain other foreigners, to the great injury of 
the White Sea trade. 26 Thomas Glover, one of these ir- 
regular traders, was especially troublesome because of his 
refusal to render an accounting for the period during 
which he had been in charge of the affairs of the Company 
in Russia. 27 To make matters much more serious Glover 
and his associates were upheld by Ivan IV and received 
from him special privileges of trade in his dominions. 28 
At the solicitation of the now thoroughly alarmed Com- 
pany Elizabeth dispatched messengers to the Czar de- 
manding the seizure of these dishonest factors, but the 
Czar, dissatisfied at the subordination of his political 
schemes to commercial questions, had the messengers 
seized and detained at Narva. 29 

Though Elizabeth was not interested in an alliance with 
the Czar, she was much concerned about the fortunes of 
her merchants in Russia, and consequently the attitude of 
the Russian ruler forced her to meet the embarrassing 
situation created by the proposal of alliance and mutual 
asylum. Therefore, it was determined to send Thomas 
Randolph, an experienced and able diplomatist, to ward off 
the threatened danger. Randolph's instructions required 
him to temporize regarding the question of asylum and to 
avoid committing himself to any very definite propositions 
of alliance. On the other hand he was informed that the 
only possible treaty relation with Russia was that of a 
grant of privileges for the English merchants and that 

26 Tolstoy, introd. XX-XXII; Early Voyages and Travels, II, 284. 

27 IUd., II, 278. 

28 Post, 174, note 32, and 202, note 10. 

29 Letter of Elizabeth (Sept. 16, 1568), Hamel, England and Rus- 
sia, 189, 190, appen. U. and W.; Early Voyages and Travels, II, 281, 
282. 



174 TEADE IN ASIA 

this was the special reason for sending him to Moscow. 
In the proposed negotiations two members of the Muscovy 
Company, Thomas Bannister and Geoffrey Duckett, were 
associated with him, and in all commercial matters he 
was to be guided by the instructions they received from 
the Company. 30 

Upon their arrival at Moscow late in September, 1568, 
Eandolph, Bannister, and Duckett, were not left in doubt 
regarding the Czar's displeasure; none of their country- 
men were permitted to meet them, and for over four 
months they were kept practically as prisoners in their 
lodgings. Finally, on February 20, 1569, Eandolph was 
summoned before the Czar to deliver his message. Ex- 
cept for a secret conference a few days later there was a 
further wait of six weeks, and then he found the Czar 
ready to accede to his requests. On June 20 a new char- 
ter of privileges was signed by Ivan IV, whereupon 
Eandolph departed for England, accompanied by 
Andrew Saviena, who was sent to confirm the grant 
of privileges and to continue the negotiations with Eliza- 
beth. 31 

The new grant was a confirmation and extension of the 
rights previously enjoyed by the Company. The monop- 
oly of the northern ports was upheld, all Englishmen save 
members of the Company were forbidden to trade at 
Narva, though the merchants of all other nations were to 
be freely admitted to that port as before, and finally the 
privileges of trade granted to Glover, Eutter, and others, 
were to be revoked. 32 The privilege of passage through 
Eussia to Asia was again stated and was now declared to 
belong to the English merchants exclusively, their only 
obligations being to take the Czar's merchandise with 

so Early Voyages and Travels, II, 241, 242. 

si Randolph's own account is in Hakluyt, III, 102-108. See also 
Early Voyages and Travels, II, 277, 278, 283, 284. 

32 Hakluyt, III, 109, 116-118; Early Voyages and Travels, II, 283. 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 175 

them to Persia and on their return to bring their wares 
first to his treasury. 33 The Czar further agreed that the 
Persian expedition now under way should not only have 
freedom of passage but also letters from him bespeaking 
the favor of the Shah, and that whenever the Company 
desired to send out an expedition to seek Cathay it would 
be granted permission to repair to Russia to make all 
necessary preparations. 34 

In addition to aiding Randolph in these negotiations, 
Bannister and Duckett had been chosen by the merchants 
as their factors for the Persian voyage. As they had 
necessarily to await the outcome of the negotiations with 
the Czar before carrying out the second part of their 
instructions, it was not until July 3, 1569, that they left 
Jaroslav for Persia. 35 They were accompanied by Lionel 
Plumtree and twelve other Englishmen, together with 
forty Russians that they had employed. About forty 
miles above Astrakhan they were attacked by a large band 
of Nogay Tartars, but after a fierce two hours' struggle 
they were able to drive off their enemies, though their own 
losses were very heavy. Consequently it was necessary to 
remain for a time at Astrakhan for the recovery of the 
wounded as well as for the equipment of their vessel ; and 
before they were ready to depart a large army of Tartars 
and Turks besieged that place. According to Bannister's 
statement the Englishmen were compelled to unload their 
goods, sink their ship, and do their part towards the de- 
fense of the town. 36 Apparently finding the place stronger 

ssHakluyt, III, 109, 110, 117. 

34 Among special grants, under date of July 10. Ibid., Ill, 
118, 119; Early Voyages and Travels, II, 275. 

35 The account of this expedition given in Hakluyt, III, 150-157, 
is well supplemented by a number of letters of Bannister and Duckett. 
These have not been printed but fortunately they are fully abstracted 
in the Calendar of State Papers. 

36 For details of these misfortunes see Bannister to Cecil, Cal. S. 
P. For., 1570, pp. 221, 222. 



176 TRADE IN ASIA 

than had been anticipated and fearing an attack by the 
Russian army, the besiegers withdrew in confusion and 
with great loss. 37 It was not until the middle of October 
that the factors were able to continue their journey to 
Bilbil and thence to Shemakha, where the whole company 
spent the winter. 

Proceeding to Ardebil the following spring, the two fac- 
tors separated. Being unable to travel on account of 
sickness, Duckett with half of the men and part of the 
merchandise remained at Ardebil for five or six months. 
He not only found the place torn by internal dissensions 
but also rather unsatisfactory from a commercial stand- 
point. Upon leaving Ardebil he seems to have spent the 
next two years and a half at Tabriz. 38 

Meanwhile, in answer to a summons to the English mer- 
chants from the Shah, Bannister had proceeded to Kazvin, 
where for a time he met with considerable trouble and 
opposition in the prosecution of his suit for trading privi- 
leges. He complains of the evil behavior of the servants 
of the Company and of their great enmity to himself; he 
points out that he also had as enemies all who had pur- 
chased goods from him, as by keeping him from the Shah 
they hoped to avoid making payment ; and finally, he states 
that he was compelled to meet the opposition of the Ar- 
menian and other merchants who traded between Aleppo 
and Persia. Becoming convinced that it would be useless 
to appeal to the Shah or to his advisers, Bannister made 
earnest suit to Hyder Mirza, a younger son of the Persian 
ruler whom the latter had designated as his successor, and 
fortunately he was able to win the favor of that prince. 
As a result he was shortly summoned to the court and 
permitted to deliver the Queen's letters and messages, and 
all of his requests with a single exception were granted 

37HaMuyt, III, 150, 151; Rambaud, Russia, I, 268. 
ssHakluyt, III, 151-153. 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 177 

and embodied in letters of privilege. 39 For one thing a 
letter was issued to Hyder Mirza which authorized him 
to dispense justice in all cases where the English mer- 
chants were concerned. Also it was agreed that one of 
the Shah's servants should be licensed each year to col- 
lect all debts due the merchants anywhere in the Persian 
dominions. Furthermore, a formal grant of trading privi- 
leges was given by the Shah to his " greatest and best mer- 
chants," which declared that they might trade at their 
will and pleasure throughout his dominions. To this gen- 
eral statement of privilege there were attached several 
articles providing for the further regulation of the trade 
in that country. In addition to these grants the Shah 
further showed his good will towards Bannister by pur- 
chasing considerable merchandise from him and what is 
more to the point, paying him ready money for the same. 
Bannister had also made request for permission "to 
transport and carie through his dominions certaine horses 
into India, ' ' but the Shah, it is said, ' ' seemed loth to yeeld 
thereunto, and yet did not altogether denie it, but refused 
it to some further time. ' ' 40 This is interesting as the first 
definite attempt to carry out the instructions of the Com- 
pany in regard to such an overland route, and its success 
would have meant the completion of the plans originally 
outlined by Jenkinson in connection with the first Per- 
sian voyage. As nothing more was done, it is very prob- 
able that the Shah was opposed to the undertaking, espe- 
cially in view of the attitude taken towards a somewhat 
similar movement to the eastward in the following year. 
Lionel Plumtree, persuaded he says by certain men from 
Bokhara, made preparations for a journey to Cathay, and 
when everything was ready he secretly joined a caravan. 

39 Bannister to Cecil, Cal. 8. P. For., 1571, pp. 439, 440; Gal. 8. P., 
East Indies, I, 89; Hakluyt, III, 152. 

*oCal. S. P. For., 1571, p. 439; Hakluyt, III, 152. 



178 TRADE IN ASIA 

But after a six days' journey he was overtaken and 
brought back by horsemen sent after him by one of the 
Shah's lieutenants. According to Plumtree's account, he 
was not permitted "to passe on so perillous and dangerous 
a journey for feare of divers inconveniences that might 
follow." 41 

On November 9, 1570, Bannister departed from Kazvin, 
accompanied by a "sergeant of arms" sent by the Shah 
for the apprehension of the debtors of the English mer- 
chants. Escaping a band of robbers that was lying in 
wait for him, he rejoined Duckett at Tabriz, succeeded in 
collecting the debts owing him, and then proceeded to 
Shemakha to see to the transportation of his merchandise 
for England. At the same time he prepared for the Com- 
panjr the required statements regarding his sales and the 
goods remaining in his hands. 

It seems to have been the intention of Bannister and 
Duckett to return from Persia in the spring of 1571, but at 
that time and again in 1572 this was made impossible by 
the acute situation that had arisen in Russia out of the 
further demands of the Czar for an alliance with Eliza- 
beth. 42 The Persian as well as the Russian trade was 
thrown into great confusion and even demoralization ; the 
ship intended for Persia was detained, merchandise from 
that country was seized and held at Astrakhan and Kazan, 
and certain wares belonging to the Company were taken 
outright by the Czar's officials. 43 Confronted by this sit- 

4i Hakluyt, III, 153, 154. The horsemen were procured by Hum- 
phrey Greensell; probably the Englishmen feared the Shah's dis- 
pleasure, as Plumtree seems to suggest. 

42 Cal. 8. P., East Indies, I, 8, 10. 

43 Hakluyt, III, 181, 182, 190. The utter demoralization of ar- 
rangements at Astrakhan is best shown by a letter of William Smith, 
who had been sent to meet Bannister and Duckett in 1571. The 
writer was very frank in his criticisms of the trade and of Com- 
pany's service. Wright, Queen Elizabeth and Her Times, I, 416- 
420. See also Cal, 8. P., East Indies, I, No. 19. Queen Elizabeth 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 179 

uation, Bannister determined to occupy himself further 
in trade, and to that end he went to Arrash in order to 
purchase raw silk. The stay at that place proved disas- 
trous to the expedition, as Bannister, Lawrence Chapman, 
and three other Englishmen fell victims to the unwhole- 
some climate. As two others were robbed and slain, the 
loss was seven persons in the course of five weeks. 44 
Without delay Duckett took steps to get control of the 
merchandise at Arrash, which had been at once seized and 
sealed by the Shah's officials, but it was only after a long 
journey to Kazvin for letters from the Shah to the ruler 
of Shemakha that he succeeded in obtaining possession of 
the goods. If this had not been done, the merchandise 
would have fallen into the hands of the Shah, according 
to the custom of the country. 

As a result of negotiations between Elizabeth and the 
Czar, the way was opened in the spring of 1572 for the re- 
turn of Duckett and his associates, but too late for them 
to take advantage of it before the following year, thus still 
further prolonging the Persian voyage. After his return 
from Kazvin to Shemakha, therefore, Duckett made a 
journey to Kashan, an important commercial town of the 
interior of Persia, frequented by the merchants of India. 
Remaining there for two months and a half, he brought 
some spices and a considerable quantity of "Turkie 
stones" and of various sorts of wrought silks. During 
the rest of the year he visited other places for the pur- 
chase of raw silk and other commodities. 45 Finally, in 
the spring of 1573 he came to Shabran, loaded his mer- 
chandise, and on May 8 embarked for Astrakhan. 

However, the misfortunes of this remarkable expedition 

felt it necessary to write to the Czar in behalf of Bannister and 
Duckett. Early Voyages and Travels, II, 303. 

44Hakluyt, III, 153; Duckett to Cecil (April 4, 1572), Cal. S. 
P., East Indies, I, 10. 

"Hakluyt, III, 154, 155. 



180 TRADE IN ASIA 

were by no means at an end. Because of the winds and 
the dangerous shoals of the Caspian Sea, the ship beat 
about for twenty days and then on May 28, while riding 
at anchor, it was attacked by a band of Russian outlaws. 
After some very severe fighting the Englishmen were 
forced to give up their ship in return for promises of per- 
sonal safety, whereupon they were cast adrift in the ship 's 
boat and compelled to make their way to Astrakhan as 
best they could. From that place the Russians sent out 
an expedition against the robbers, but it bungled matters 
so badly that nothing was accomplished. A second expe- 
dition did considerably better; it came up with a part of 
the outlaws, killed them, and recovered merchandise to 
the value of £5000 out of the £30,000 or £40,000 that had 
been lost, but the rest of the goods together with the ship 
was apparently never heard of again. 46 

After delaying two months at Astrakhan for the recov- 
ery of their strength the Englishmen began the long voy- 
age up the Volga. Somewhere between Kazan and Jaro- 
slav the ice in the river crushed their boats and so once 
more they were threatened with loss of life and goods. As 
much of the merchandise as was saved they conveyed over- 
land in sleds to Vologda and thence to St. Nicholas for 
shipment to England. However, Duckett, Plumtree, and 
Amos Riall took some wares to Moscow and there made 
sales to the Czar, receiving the money therefor. The fol- 
lowing summer they embarked for England and after a 
severe passage of over nine weeks they reached London in 
October, 1574, thus ending the longest and most unfortu- 
nate of all the Persian ventures. 47 

46Hakluyt, III, 155, 156. 

47 Upon his return Duckett had trouble with the Company over 
the terms of his agreement with it. Acts of Privy Council, 1581-2, 
pp. 378, 379. An intimation of the nature of the trouble is given 
in one of Bannister's letters to Cecil. Cal. S. P., East Indies, I, 8, 



DEVELOPMENT OF PERSIAN TRADE 181 

Judged by the number of men engaged, by the length 
of time spent in Persia, by the amount of territory cov- 
ered and the number of towns visited, and especially by 
the various glimpses of the trade afforded here and there, 
the fifth voyage to Persia was considerably the largest and 
most important of the expeditions of the Muscovy Com- 
pany beyond the borders of Russia. In order to take ad- 
vantage of the important Persian and Russian grants of 
1566 and 1567, the Company carefully prepared for this 
expedition, they placed it under competent leadership, and 
apparently they expected much from it. Unfortunately 
in this as in the other voyages no formal statement of the 
amount or the profits of the trade either to or from Per- 
sia is to be found, but scattered references in the letters 
of the agents seem to indicate clearly enough that, under 
the Shah's protection, the trade in both respects offered 
excellent possibilities. 48 Also, after recounting the various 
misfortunes and losses of the expedition, Lionel Plumtree 
exclaimed that "if it had pleased God to prosper that all 
things had come home as safely as they were carefully pro- 
vided and painfully laboured for, it had proved the rich- 
est voyage and most profitable returne of commoditie that 
had ever bene undertaken by English merchants. ' ' 49 He 
furthermore added that, in spite of those misfortunes, the 
merchants did not lose any of their principal, but only the 
interest and the profit due them upon their stock. These 
statements being true, the volume of the trade and its 
profits as well must have been such as to justify the great 
risks taken by the Muscovy Company in its prosecution. 

48 For example, on his way to Kazvin Bannister sold a thousand 
pieces of kersies, and later he took to Shemakha for shipment two 
hundred camel loads of merchandise and money; Duckett thought 
the Company might make £10,000 on a consignment of his, while on 
his return in 1573 it has been seen that his cargo was valued at 
£30,000 to £40,000. Cal. 8. P., For., 1571, p. 439, 440; Duckett to 
Cecil, April 4, 1572, as quoted in Voyages and Travels, II, 427, note 1. 

49Hakluyt, III, 157. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 

Upon the return of Geoffrey Duckett to England in 
1574 after his long absence in Persia there followed an 
interval of five years in which nothing further was done 
in the attempt to develop the trade beyond the Caspian 
Sea. When, in 1579, conditions became such as to per- 
mit a renewal of the venture, an expedition was sent out 
which was destined to be no more successful than previous 
ones, and which proved to be the last of that remarkable 
series of voyages across Russia into Asia under the author- 
ity of the Muscovy Company. This comparatively long 
period of inaction between the fifth and sixth voyages does 
not seem to have been the result of discouragement fol- 
lowing Duckett 's misfortunes while returning from Per- 
sia ; apparently his losses did not by any means destroy the 
faith of the English merchants in the advantages of their 
commercial relations with that country, as is well shown 
by the renewal of their efforts when the situation again 
appeared favorable. Though it is admitted that the avail- 
able sources do not justify one in giving a definite ex- 
planation of this inactivity, still it may be well worth 
while to point out certain facts that seem to have an im- 
portant bearing on the question. Of these undoubtedly 
the most significant are the probable condition of the 
Muscovy Company, the enthusiasm of Englishmen for ri- 
val interests and the changes in political conditions in 
Russia, and especially the breaking of diplomatic relations 
with England as a result of further negotiations concern- 
ing an Anglo-Russian alliance. 

In no other way perhaps can some of the essential char- 

182 



DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 183 

acteristics of the Russian and Persian trade be so well 
explained and emphasized as by the story of these nego- 
tiations between the Queen and the Czar. To all appear- 
ances Thomas Randolph had been successful in his mis- 
sion to the Russian court; the grant of privileges obtained 
by him for the Muscovy Company not only covered the 
questions in dispute but also was the fullest grant of 
trading privileges that the English merchants ever en- 
joyed in Russia. Unfortunately for the merchants, how- 
ever, Randolph did not fully succeed in putting aside the 
troublesome question of an alliance, the one thing above 
all else in which the Czar was interested. Thus, on his 
return to England in 1569, Randolph was accompanied by 
Andrew Saviena, who was to continue in that country the 
negotiations for a secret treaty. Though the ambassador 
remained in England for nearly a year, it proved impos- 
sible to obtain the desired treaty; he had to content him- 
self with Elizabeth's offer of a strong league of amity as 
far as other treaties and alliances would permit, together 
with promises of mutual aid against their common ene- 
mies. 1 At the same time a secret letter signed by a num- 
ber of important English nobles and officials was sent to 
the Czar promising him a safe retreat in England if at 
any time he found it needful. 2 "With these letters Saviena 
departed for Russia about the middle of May, 1570. 

The Czar, angry at the outcome, wrote a somewhat in- 
sulting letter to Elizabeth, 3 in which he declared that her 
kingdom was ruled by merchants and that she preferred 
their interests to great affairs of state. He had already 
seized the goods of the English merchants, 4 and now he 

i Elizabeth to Ivan (May 18, 1570), Early Voyages and Travels, 
II, 288; Tolstoy, No. 25. 

2 Early Voyages and Travels, II, 290-292. 

3 Tolstoy, No. 28; R. H. 8. Trans., VII, 86-90; Early Voyages 
and Travels, II, 292-297. 

*Ibid., II, 299. 



184 TKADE IN ASIA 

proceeded to revoke all the privileges that he had granted 
to them. Consequently the Muscovy Company was con- 
fronted with the grave danger of losing its trade with 
Russia and of seeing the destruction of its hopes in re- 
gard to Persia and the East. As other means failed to 
ward off the danger, it was finally decided that Anthony 
Jenkinson should be sent to cope with the extremely crit- 
ical situation that had thus developed. Though Jenkin- 
son arrived at St. Nicholas on July 27, 1571, it was not 
until the following March that he was permitted to pre- 
sent himself before the Czar and not until the middle of 
May that he obtained the final reply of Ivan to his re- 
quests in behalf of the English merchants. In regard to 
the treaty the Russian ruler announced that for the pres- 
ent he would cease to importune the Queen. He further 
stated that he would forgive the Company for its misdeeds 
and restore its privileges. 5 Upon receipt of the answers to 
his various requests Jenkinson at once departed, and later 
the grant of privileges was written out for the formal ap- 
proval of the Czar. Throughout the whole proceeding, 
however, it seems clear that the Company had suffered 
severely as a result of the Czar's recent displeasure and 
also that Jenkinson had lost much of his former favor. 

It was, however, this relatively fortunate ending of Jen- 
kinson 's negotiations that opened the way for Duckett's 
return from Persia and the restoration of the previous 
conditions underlying the trade with that country. Fur- 
thermore, it was promised that a plan proposed by Jenkin- 
son for the establishment of the whole trans- Caspian trade 
at Astrakhan should be given due consideration and the 
Czar's pleasure therein made known later. 6 This last 
point is significant as an indication of a possible abandon- 

sHakluyt, III, 187, 189. 

e Ibid., Ill, 183, 190. Christopher Burrough later advised that 
the Russian trade be thus centered at Kholmogory. Early Voyages 
and Travels, introd., CXI-CXII. 



DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 185 

ment of the Persian voyages and a suggestion that per- 
haps better results might be obtained by attracting Per- 
sian trade to Astrakhan than by seeking it at Shemakha 
or Kazvin. Though such a plan offered certain obvious 
advantages, it does not seem to have received any further 
attention, and the next voyage followed the established 
lines of trade. 

The friendly relations between England and Russia con- 
tinued for a time, but on August 20, 1574, two years after 
Jenkinson's mission, the Czar reopened the whole question 
of the secret treaty. Daniel Sylvester brought word to 
England of the Czar's angry complaints and the situation 
seemed to show that the treaty was necessary in order to 
avert the ruin of the trade. 7 After his return to Russia 
in the following year Sylvester had two audiences with 
the Czar, in which Ivan IV explained his desire for a place 
of refuge, reiterated his grievances, and declared that the 
messages brought by Sylvester were as unsatisfactory as 
those brought by Saviena and Jenkinson. He threatened 
to take away all privileges from the English merchants if 
his demands were not acceded to, though he agreed to wait 
for the Queen's final decision before resorting to such ex- 
treme measures. 8 When this was made known in England 
it was seen that further delay or temporizing was out of 
the question, and consequently Sylvester was again sent 
back with letters from the Queen, but at Kholmogory he 
was killed by lightning and all of his letters and papers 
were burned, with the result that the real nature of his 
mission is not known. For three years thereafter the ne- 
gotiations apparently were allowed to drop and as far as 
the Company is concerned the period is lacking in docu- 
mentary explanation of any kind. 9 Though it seems clear 

i Czar to Elizabeth (Aug. 20, 1574), R. H. 8. Trans., VII, 96-100. 
s For Sylvester's account of these audiences of Nov. 29, 1575, 
and Jan. 29, 1576, see Ibid., VII, 107-111. 

9 Tolstoy, introd. XXXIII; R. H. 8. Trans., VII, 111. 



186 TRADE IN ASIA 

enough that the Muscovy Company continued to carry on 
its Russian trade, there is very little to suggest the charac- 
ter of its actual position or the scope of its privileges dur- 
ing that time. 

As has been pointed out, this diplomatic situation and 
the consequent uncertainty in regard to the future of the 
Muscovy Company seems to offer a plausible explanation 
of the temporary abandonment of the Persian venture. 
During the period from Duckett's return to England in 
1574 to the sending out of the final expedition in 1579 
the Company undoubtedly found itself in the midst of the 
confusion and disorder that characterized the latter part 
of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, and without the Czar's 
positive sanction and protection it may well have hesitated 
to send more merchandise into Russia for the Persian 
market. Besides, since the closing of Astrakhan and the 
Volga to the return of Bannister and Duckett, nothing 
further was needed to emphasize the risk of the Persian 
venture when its base in Russia was not secure. Further- 
more, the growing frequency of wars in the region through 
which it was necessary to pass may have had an important 
bearing upon the interruption of the Persian trade. It 
was to this cause that Elizabeth, in her letter to the Shah 
in 1579, attributed the break in the commercial relations 
between England and Persia, 10 though manifestly she 
would not desire to make any mention of the Czar's un- 
friendliness. 

There is another fact which from the English side may 
also have had its influence on the interruption of the Per- 
sian trade. In that suggestive shifting of attention from 
one route to another during this period, it may be that 
the hope of passage by way of Russia and Persia was over- 

io Hakluyt, III, 213. Wars were almost constant from 1569 to 
the end of the period of the Persian voyages. Howorth, Mongols, 
II, 503, 504, 507-509, 511, 515, 516, etc. 



DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 187 

shadowed by the enthusiasm for the voyages of Frobisher 
to the northwest in 1576, 1577, and 1578, in search of 
another solution of the same problem, and that further 
activity was suspended to await the outcome. If that be 
so, then the reaction from Frobisher 's failure will explain 
the great activity of the Muscovy Company in the next 
two years, namely, the Persian expedition of 1579-81 and 
the voyage of Pet and Jackman to the northeast in 1580. 

And finally, mention may be made of the fact that at 
this time the Muscovy Company had suffered great losses 
and had assumed burdensome debts, for the payment of 
which a levy was made on the Adventurers. There was 
trouble, however, in regard to its collection, and as a re- 
sult the Privy Council appointed a committee to look into 
the matter. 11 If the records of the Company were in ex- 
istence, possibly they would show that this phase of the 
situation offers a real explanation of the period under 
consideration. 

The influences underlying the Anglo-Russian trade 
proved strong enough to overcome the strained relations 
between the two countries resulting from the Czar's dis- 
pleasure towards Elizabeth. On the one hand the Eng- 
lish merchants were anxious to maintain their position in 
Russia and Persia ; on the other hand Ivan 's struggle with 
the King of Poland to the west served to emphasize his 
need of commercial relations with a country able to supply 
the much-desired military stores independently of the Bal- 
tic route. In the years following the death of Sylvester, 
Ivan is said to have been in desperate straits, and so it is 
not surprising to find that in 1580 he determined to send 
Jerome Horsey, one of the agents of the Muscovy Com- 
pany in Russia, overland to England for the purpose of 
negotiating for military supplies. Horsey was well re- 

ii Acts of Privy Council, under dates Dec. 2, 1578, and Mar. 7, 
1579. 



188 TRADE IN ASIA 

ceived by the Queen and by the merchants and the latter 
supplied him with everything the Czar had desired from 
them. 12 

Meanwhile the English merchants had organized and 
sent out another Persian expedition, under Arthur Ed- 
wards, William Turnbull, Matthew Tailbois, and Peter 
Garrard as agents. It was eleven years since Bannister 
and Duckett had sailed from England on the preceding 
venture, and now as then Elizabeth besought the Shah to 
receive her merchants with favor and to grant them trad- 
ing privileges. 13 In view of the interruption of the trade 
and the change of rulers in Persia it was felt that such 
new grants were highly desirable. 14 The factors with 
their merchandise reached St. Nicholas on July 22, 1579, 
and by October 16 they were at Astrakhan where they 
found their ship in readiness. 15 However, the approach 
of winter and reports of Turkish conquests in Shirvan led 
the Englishmen to remain in Astrakhan until the follow- 
ing spring. During the winter that place was besieged 
for a short time by an army of Nogay and Krim Tartars, 
a fact that well illustrates the altered conditions prevail- 
ing in those regions that border on the Caspian Sea. 

With the spring there came news that the Persians had 
won a victory over the Turks but that the latter still held 
Derbend and the greater part of Shirvan. Upon consulta- 
tion, therefore, it was decided that Arthur Edwards with 

12 Copper, lead, powder, saltpetre, brimstone, and other things, to 
the value of £9,000. Travels of Jerome Horsey {Russia at Close 
of Sixteenth Century), 194. 

13 Hakluyt, III, 212-214. 

14 Cal. 8. P., East Indies, I, 61. On the death of Shah Tahmasp 
three of his sons came to the throne in rapid succession, Hyder 
Mirza, Ismail II, and Mohammed Mirza. Malcolm, Persia, I, 334- 
338. 

is This the sixth Persian voyage is described by Christopher Bur- 
rough, the account in Hakluyt, III, 214-247, being gathered from 
his various letters. 



DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 189 

half of the goods should remain at Astrakhan 16 while the 
other factors proceeded with the rest to the coast of 
Shirvan to see what might be done there. In case no trade 
was found, it was the intention that they should go on to 
the province of Ghilan with their merchandise. Mean- 
time two men were sent back to Jaroslav with letters of 
advice for England and with orders for the detention in 
Russia of all the goods coming that year from England 
for the Persian market. 17 

On May 1 the three factors left Astrakhan and on the 
27th they anchored at Bildih in Shirvan, a port between 
Bilbil and Baku. The reports concerning the Turkish con- 
quests were now fully confirmed, and besides it was said 
that Shemakha was almost desolated. In fact the situa- 
tion seemed so unpromising that the factors were almost 
persuaded to return to Russia. 18 However, receiving per- 
mission and aid from the Turkish officer at Baku they 
determined to go to Derbend to request a grant of privi- 
leges from the Pasha whereby they might trade in safety 
in any part of his dominions. This official declared his 
willingness to give them the privileges, and yet, knowing 
the disturbed state of the country and perhaps not un- 
mindful of his own profit, he advised the bringing of their 
ship to Derbend, which was accordingly done. Here, on 
June 29, they unloaded their merchandise, paying the 
Pasha one kersey out of each twenty-five as toll. 

From Derbend goods to the value of £1000 were sent to 
Baku in charge of three servants of the Company. Though 
the Englishmen were well received, their sales were small ; 
and besides, an attempt of one of their number to re- 
establish trading relations with Shemakha very nearly re- 

i« Edwards died at Astrakhan somewhat later. Hakluyt, III, 231, 
232. 

it Ibid., Ill, 220. 
i8/6id., Ill, 225. 



190 TRADE IN ASIA 

suited in the loss of his goods and his life. 19 Their ship 
having proved unseaworthy, another was obtained in its 
place, but this unfortunately was wrecked on the return 
from Baku and a chest of money and a portion of the 
merchandise were lost, Meanwhile, at Derbend itself the 
trade was somewhat better, though raw silk was the only 
commodity to be had, and this was obtained only through 
the Pasha's hands. Though the dealings of the latter 
were not always equitable and his prices for the English 
wares were rather low, the country was in such confusion 
and travel so dangerous that it was only through him that 
the English merchants were able to obtain any merchan- 
dise at all. 20 

On October 2 the factors were suddenly ordered by the 
Turkish governor to leave Derbend. 21 The next day, just 
as they were ready to return to Astrakhan, they received 
the news of the mishap to those who had been sent to 
Baku. Their voyage to the southward to pick up these 
men caused some delay, and it was not until the 16th that 
the return voyage began. On account of the lateness of 
the season their ship was caught in the ice near the islands 
off the mouth of the Volga and both ship and cargo had to 
be abandoned, while the merchants made their way on the 
ice towards Astrakhan. Lost for a time and suffering pri- 
vation, they finally met a rescue party that had been sent 
out. A little later the goods were loaded on sleds and 
after escaping capture by a band of Tartar horsemen they 
also were brought in safety to Astrakhan. 22 After spend- 
ing the winter at that place, most of the English merchants 
on April 9, 1581, set out for Jaroslav, leaving three men 
behind for a time to attempt the disposal of more of the 



"Hakluyt, III, 230. 

20 Ibid., Ill, 234. 

2i Ibid., Ill, 232. 

22 Ibid., Ill, 239-245, gives the story in detail. 



DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 191 

merchandise. In due time the merchants and also the 
wares brought from Persia reached England in safety. 

Thus, this attempt of the Muscovy Company to rees- 
tablish its commercial relations with Persia proved to be 
a hopeless task; not only did the factors fail to enter 
Persia proper, but what little encouragement they at first 
received from the Turks was soon withdrawn and clearly 
nothing remained except to abandon the undertaking. 
The realities of the situation form a striking contrast to 
the hopes and plans of the merchants in England, who evi- 
dently were counting heavily on a renewal of the trade. 
It was thought by them that a ratification of the privileges 
formerly granted by Shah Tahmasp I would be sufficient 
reason for sending an ambassador to Persia, and it was 
suggested that a " gentleman bred in the Court" should 
be chosen for this mission. Also it was proposed to send 
out with him experienced men of different trades to learn 
the methods of manufacture of saltpeter, Turkey blades, 
plates for armor, carpets, and other things. 23 A begin- 
ning along this line had been made in 1579 when Morgan 
Hubblethorne, a London dyer, was sent with the Persian 
expedition at the expense of the city in order to make a 
study of dyeing substances and methods of dyeing in the 
countries to be visited, with a view to introducing improve- 
ments at home in this branch of the cloth industry, 24 but 
unfortunately this phase of development as w r ell as the 
hope of a profitable trade in Persia was ended as a result 
of the Turkish advance to the Caspian Sea. With the fail- 
ure of their expedition the English merchants seem to 

23 Cal. 8. P., Bom., 1581-1590, p. 587; Gal. 8. P., East Indies, I, 
50, 61. The former gives 1589 as the date of these documents, the 
latter 1580?; the reference to a voyage to the northeast points to 
1580 as probably correct. 

24 Hakluyt, III, 245, 249-251. In Acts of Privvy Council, Last of 
May, 1579, may be found the letter to the warden of the Dyers which 
led to this action. 



192 TRADE IN ASIA 

have made the best of the situation by wisely deciding to 
abandon so hazardous a field of commercial activity, 
though they kept somewhat in touch with eastern mer- 
chants through their trade at Astrakhan. 25 

Although no more trading expeditions were sent to Per- 
sia by the Muscovy Company for over a century and a 
half, the right of passage through Russia to that country 
continued to be a matter of interest and retained its place 
in the various grants or renewals of privileges obtained 
from successive Czars. Early in 1587, for example, when 
Jerome Horsey obtained a letter of privileges from the 
successor of Ivan IV, provision was made that English 
merchants should be permitted to cross the Caspian into 
Persian or other countries without payment of duty. 26 
Another grant made in the following year at the solicita- 
tion of Giles Fletcher went further than this, as it de- 
clared that the Company should have the sole right, to 
trade through Russia "into Media, Persia, Bogharia, and 
other East countries. ' ' 27 Other letters of privilege, such 
as those of 1596, 1605, and 1621, continued to mention this 
right of passage. 28 That it was a privilege not lightly 
valued is shown by the negotiations of 1617-8, in which the 
Czar's desire for a large loan was used in an attempt to 
obtain from him this along with other concessions. 29 Fur- 
thermore, it was regarded as of sufficient importance to be 
given full expression in the treaty of alliance and trade 
entered into by Russia and England in 1623. 30 Even as 

25 See Elizabeth to Theodore (April 30, 1589), Tolstoy, No. 66, 
for the conditions existing in 1583. 

26 Hakluyt, III, 350, 351; Horsey, Travels, 227, 228. 

27 Hakluyt, III, 355, art. 11; Fletcher, Russe Commonwealth, in 
Russia at Close of Sixteenth Century, 80. 

28 Hakluyt, III, 442; Purchas., XIV, 154, 170, 288. 

29 CaZ. S. P., East Indies, II, Nos. 307-310, 312, 467; Cal. 8. P., 
Dom. Add., 1580-1625, pp. 639, 640; Hamel, England and Russia, 
390, 391. 

soRymer, Foedera, VII, pt. IV, p. 73. 



DOWNFALL OF THE PERSIAN TRADE 193 

late as 1697, fifty years after the loss to the English mer- 
chants of all their privileges in Russia, 31 it is interesting 
to find that the Committee of Trade and Plantations con- 
sidered this freedom of passage and of trade to Persia as 
one of the more important of the old-time privileges that 
if possible it was desirable to regain. 32 

In addition to these treaties and grants of privileges 
there were various plans proposed for the Persian trade 
which likewise show a continuance of interest. Appar- 
ently an expedition was under consideration in 1601, pro- 
vided the necessary concessions could be obtained from the 
Czar. 33 Twelve years later some stir was created by a 
project for the extension of the trade not only to Persia 
but also to India. Although James I was sufficiently in- 
terested to have Sir Henry Neville discuss the matter sev- 
eral times with the Council, the thoroughly unsubstantial 
character of the project is perhaps enough to explain why 
nothing more is heard of it. 34 Much more promising in 
character was the proposal to revive the transit trade 
through Russia that followed the temporary amalgama- 
tion of the Muscovy and East India companies in 1618 for 
this and other purposes. 35 The next year they sent out 
Giles Hobbes to go over the route from Jaroslav to Ispahan 
by way of Astrakhan, the Caspian Sea, and Shemakha, 
and to report on the situation. After discussing in his 
report the possibilities of the trade, the rivalry of the 
Turks, the Arabs, the Armenians, and especially the Por- 
tuguese, and the practicability of the various routes from 

3i Cal. S. P. Dom., 1653, No. 149. 

32 Cal. of MSS. of Marquis of Bath (Hist. MSS. Comm.) , III, 148- 
151. 

33 Salisbury MSS., Pt. XI, pp. 347, 348. 

34Winwood, Memorials, III, 453; Cal. S. P., Dom., 1613, p. 182, 
and Ibid., East Indies, I, No. 644; Report on MSS. Duke of Buccleugh 
and Queensberry, (Hist. MSS. Comm.), I, 124. 

35 Cal. S. P., East Indies, II, Nos. 306, 314. 



194 TRADE IN ASIA 

Moscow to Persia, Hobbes concluded by recommending 
the reopening of this northern route through Russia. 36 
However, the only actual exploitation of Persia in the 
seventeenth century was destined to be that by the East 
India Company from the opposite direction, but that de- 
velopment lies outside the limits of the present discussion. 
It was not until the time of Peter the Great that Eng- 
lishmen were again afforded extensive opportunities in 
Russia, and not until towards the middle of the eighteenth 
century that English merchants once more sent their fac- 
tors and their merchandise from Russia over the Caspian 
Sea to make trial of the Persian trade, though unfortu- 
nately with no better or more permanent results than 
they had achieved in their earlier attempts during the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth. 37 

36 Purchas.. V, 257-262. 

37 One of these factors, Jonas Hanway, has told the story in great 
detail, in his Historical Account of British Trade over the Caspian 
Sea, Vol. I. 



CHAPTER V 

THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OP THE PERSIAN VENTURE 

A study of the successive voyages of the Muscovy Com- 
pany into Asia reveals how fully they were characteristic 
of the new epoch of adventure, of exploration and of ex- 
panding commercial activity. The twofold purpose of the 
founders of the Company, namely, exploration and trade, 
had been kept constantly in mind and had been prosecuted 
with courage and persistence in the face of great diffi- 
culties. To that end the voyage of Chancellor had been 
followed without delay by the development of the Russian 
trade and particularly at the same time by a series of voy- 
ages to the south and east for the purpose of still further 
extending the markets for English goods and of bringing 
the English merchants in touch with the commodities of 
the East. Between 1557 and 1581 seven such expeditions 
were equipped and sent out under the authority of the 
Company, the first one striking boldly for Cathay along 
the line of the northernmost of the great mediaeval trade 
routes, while the later ones settled down to the somewhat 
less ambitious project of developing the Persian trade 
and thereby opening the way to Ormuz and India. With 
the history of these expeditions in mind it is now possible 
in a concluding chapter to notice the more important 
points concerning the movement as a whole. Among these 
probably the most significant are the extent and value of 
the actual achievements of the English factors, the charac- 
ter and possibilities of the Persian trade and the method 
of conducting it, the extent of the indebtedness to Russia, 
and finally the reasons for the failure to establish such an 
overland trade with Asia. 

195 



196 TRADE IN ASIA 

Persia should not be regarded as an inaccessible conn- 
try, as it may easily be approached either from the north 
or from the south. Though Englishmen have made use 
of the Persian Gulf route since early in the seventeenth 
century, the earliest approach as has been seen was by 
way of the Caspian Sea. It has also been pointed out 
how the English merchants had been brought in touch with 
Astrakhan and the Caspian by combining the newly dis- 
covered sea route to the White Sea with the inland water- 
ways of Russia. The Caspian Sea in turn afforded com- 
paratively easy communication with the caravan routes 
eastward towards Bokhara or with the maritime provinces 
of northern Persia, and thus the Muscovy Company was 
enabled to tap the resources of the East independently of 
the Spanish or Portuguese routes. Such at least was the 
hope of the English traders, and it was only by the suc- 
cessive expeditions and their accompanying misfortunes 
that they were made fully to realize the almost insuperable 
obstacles in the way of its attainment. But meanwhile 
the merchants and their factors persevered, believing that 
success was near and that they would divert the commerce 
of Persia from the Turks, Venetians, and Portuguese. 

Unfortunately, however, this magnificent plan fell far 
short of actual accomplishment. When Jenkinson's first 
voyage proved the futility of the central Asian route to 
Cathay, the Muscovy Company turned at once to a sec- 
ond possible line of advance to the East, and with vary- 
ing degrees of success Jenkinson and his successors strove 
to make Persia a basis of further advance as Russia had 
been before. Luckily for the merchants they were permit- 
ted to make Shemakha a starting point for expeditions to 
the interior very much as they had made use of Kholmo- 
gory for Russia itself. When they proceeded to Kazvin 
they met at first with rebuff, but later they gained the 
favor of the Shah and received from him several grants 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 197 

of trading privileges. Prom Shemakha and Kazvin their 
activities spread to various other commercial centers, 
though they confined themselves mostly to the region im- 
mediately to the west and southwest of the lower Caspian, 
that is, between the towns of Shemakha, Tabriz, and Kaz- 
vin. Kashan, visited by Duckett in 1572, marks the 
greatest advance, to the southward. Though it is some- 
what surprising that the sphere of their activities was not 
greater, especially in view of the boldness and scope of the 
earliest voyages, still it should be remembered that the 
cities named above had more or less widely extended trade 
connections and thus the significance of the Russo-Caspian 
route should not be measured by the nominal limits of the 
English voyages. And besides, in addition to the need of 
developing a new base, the opening up of this region in the 
course of a few years was in itself no mean achievement 
and will stand comparison with the progress made else- 
where during the Elizabethan era. 

The fact remains, however, that the Muscovy merchants 
failed in their endeavor to establish overland connections 
with the Persian Gulf and India. Though for a time it 
seemed as if their hopes would be realized, the refusal of 
the Shah to permit Bannister to proceed to India practi- 
cally marked the end of the movement in that direction. 
Meanwhile, the factors had continued their efforts in Persia 
itself, and it is in the opportunities of the Persian trade 
that one must look for the chief element of strength in the 
expeditions into western Asia. 

As viewed by the Muscovy Company the possibilities of 
the Persian trade were twofold; on the one hand the mar- 
kets of that country were expected to supply an outlet for 
English cloth and other wares, while on the other hand the 
highly prized commodities of Asia were to be furnished to 
western Europe by the English merchants. It is very no- 
ticeable that through all the accounts of the voyages it is 



198 TRADE IN ASIA 

English cloth, especially kersies, that formed the staple 
article of the Persian trade and often nothing else is men- 
tioned. The charter granted the Muscovy Company in 
1566, apparently taking for granted that cloth was the one 
important English export, provided for the further en- 
couragement of the industry by declaring that no one 
should take out of England "any maner of cloths or kar- 
sies" for the lands to which the Company traded unless 
the same had been dressed and for the most part dyed 
within the realm. 1 From these facts it is clear that the 
Persian venture is merely representative of the character- 
istic features of Elizabethan trade as a whole. However, 
the lists of wares desired for the Persian market, such as 
those sent by Edwards, make mention of various other 
commodities as well. 2 

Prom the other side the success of the Persian venture 
depended upon the resources and commercial possibilities 
of that and of neighboring countries. At that time the 
chief cities of Persia were Shemakha, Arrash, Ardebil, Ta- 
briz, Kazvin, and Kashan, already mentioned, together 
with Meshed and Herat further to the east and Yezd in 
central Persia. 3 Besides, Ormuz should be mentioned, 
though not a part of Persia, because it had important trade 
relations with that country just as Aleppo did to the west- 
ward. The immediate interest, however, is with that 
group of cities to the northwest, along the coast of and in- 
land from the Caspian Sea, that is, the region already 
mentioned as indicating the extent of English activity. 
This region may be said to correspond roughly with the 
provinces of Shirvan, Azerbaijan, Ghilan, and Kasvin, and 
with Mazanderan it embraced the most important silk- 
producing sections of Persia. 4 

i Hakluyt, III, 90. 

2 Ibid., Ill, 53, 66, 67. 

3 Ibid., Ill, 35. 

* The best map of Persia is probably that in Curzon, Persia, Vol, 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 199 

That these provinces offered a fair variety of commodi- 
ties is shown by the accounts of the various factors and 
by travelers who have described the resources of the coun- 
try. 5 But after all the greatest importance seems to have 
been attached to the spices and drugs that came from In- 
dia by way of Ormuz and to the alum, dye-stuffs, and raw 
silks of the northern Persian provinces. Upon these, and 
especially upon the silk trade, depended the prospect of a 
permanent arid profitable commerce and the hope of rival- 
ing the Venetians and Turks and the Portuguese. It was 
the silk trade, mentioned by Marco Polo 6 and many later 
travelers, that urged on the English traders and later 
became the object of rivalry between English, Dutch, and 
Russian merchants. Furthermore, additional strength was 
given to the Persian venture by the ever-present possibility 
of establishing direct trading relations with the merchants 
of India, especially for the drugs and spices so much de- 
sired by the Company. In passing judgment on the Per- 
sian trade as a whole, Jenkinson was inclined to be rather 
conservative, 7 Chapman was very critical, and Edwards 
was remarkably enthusiastic and retained his enthusiasm 
through at least two expeditions into that country. Per- 
haps the latter did not sufficiently distinguish between 
actual conditions and hopes for the future, and yet the gen- 
eral impression one derives from the whole movement is 
that Persia did offer good opportunities for trade and that 
in spite of serious disadvantages the English merchants 
might have been reasonably successful in their undertaking 
if commercial considerations alone had determined the mat- 

I, end. Shirvan corresponds to the present Russian province of 
Baku, but at that time it extended as far as Derbend. 

s For a list of travelers to Persia from early times down, see 
Curzon, Persia, I, 16-18. Ample bibliographies for the different 
provinces are given in connection with the various chapters. 

6 Yule, Marco Polo, 51. 

THakluyt, II, 474, 478. 



200 TRADE IN ASIA 

ter. On the whole, perhaps, the estimate of the trade that 
has been given in connection with the expedition of Ban- 
nister and Duckett will serve in a measure at least as a gen- 
eral statement of the case for the entire series of voyages. 8 

In all essential features the Persian trade seems to have 
been organized and conducted in the same way as that of 
Russia and usually in close conjunction with it. The fac- 
tors and merchandise for Persia were brought to St. Nicho- 
las by the usual Russian fleet sent out in the spring or 
early summer, and instructions were issued which applied 
both to the Russian and the Persian voyages. The latter 
voyages nevertheless were apparently regarded as entirely 
separate expeditions, though in some degree under the su- 
pervision of the agent of the Company in Russia, especially 
in case the English merchants themselves did not assume 
authority. It would be a mistake, however, to consider this 
agent as being in full control, as there was always a chief 
factor for Persia just as there was for Russia. Sometimes 
the appointment of the Persian factors was left to the Rus- 
sian agent or to a special representative of the Company, 
but usually the merchants themselves designated the men 
to lead their ventures over the Caspian Sea, and especially 
is this true of the more important voyages, which were or- 
ganized and sent out from England itself. Of at least 
equal significance is the fact that the letters and reports 
were sent by the Persian agents directly to the Company 
itself and not to the Russian agents. Furthermore, the 
Company insisted that separate accounts be kept for the 
two countries. Thus, on the whole it may be said that the 
direction and control of these voyages resided in the offi- 
cials in London, and so was practically independent of the 
organization in Russia, though making use of it in the fur- 
therance of the trans-Caspian trade. 

From St. Nicholas the merchandise for Persia was trans- 

s Ante, p. 181. 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 201 

ported to Jaroslav, which, on account of its nearness to 
Vologda and its situation on the Volga, became the point 
of final preparation and departure for all the expeditions 
after the first. At this place were collected the wares 
from England, from Vologda, or from Moscow, that were 
considered desirable for the voyage, together with pro- 
visions and other necessary supplies. When once in Persia 
the procedure was much the same as in Russia. Usually 
the factors separated for the better carrying on of the 
trade; part of the merchandise would be retained at She- 
makha for that and the Tabriz markets, while the rest 
would be taken to Kazvin, some sales often being made 
along the way. From these centers other places were 
visited in the effort to open up new markets for the Eng- 
lish cloths or to purchase raw silk and other desired com- 
modities for the home market. Various other duties fell to 
the lot of the Persian factor, such as the seeking of new 
privileges, the collection of debts, the collection of informa- 
tion in regard to the resources of neighboring countries or 
provinces, and the guarding of English interests against 
Turkish and other rivals. The wares were always brought 
to Shemakha for the return voyage. 

In the conduct of the Persian trade certain evils and dif- 
ficulties soon made themselves felt. Here, as was the case 
in Russia, discord at times threatened the success of the un- 
dertaking, due either to the character and mistakes of the 
leaders or to the jealousies of subordinates. Another great 
source of trouble was the prevalent evil of private trading, 9 
though this did not become anything like as serious as in 
Russia, where it threatened for a time to disrupt the Com- 
pany. Furthermore, although no advantage seems to have 
been taken of the fact, it is interesting to note that the 
Czar's special grant of privileges to Thomas Glover and 

9 Wright, Queen Elizabeth and Her Times, 419; Early Voyages 
and Travels, II, 213; ante, 155, 162, 173. 



202 TRADE IN ASIA 

his associates included the right of trading to Persia. 10 
Probably the most persistent difficulty confronting the fac- 
tors was that of collecting the debts due them from the 
sales of their merchandise. Some debts were lost, others 
were compromised, while many were collected only with 
great difficulty, as a result of an apparently strong effort 
on the part of the Persian to escape his obligations. 
Though the Shah's grant of privileges met this situation, 
his authority does not seem to have been strong enough to 
make it thoroughly effective. Still another drawback to 
the trade arose from the fact that the native merchant 
might in the end repudiate his bargain. The unhealthy 
climate of northern Persia in summer, the enmity of the 
Mohammedan for the Christian, the danger from bands of 
robbers, the lack of suitable accommodations and of whole- 
some food, and the scarcity and poor quality of the water, 
all these added to the difficulties of the English factor be- 
yond the Caspian Sea. 

Before leaving the subject of the English trade in Persia, 
one may well delay long enough to emphasize the influence 
of Russia upon the movement. That its success and its 
very existence depended upon the good-will of the Czar 
has perhaps been made sufficiently clear. But it should be 
further noted that the debt of the English merchants to 
the Russian ruler goes much beyond that of mere acquies- 
cence in their trading ventures to the south of Astrakhan ; 
not only did he grant them freedom of passage and ex- 
clusive enjoyment of the trade to Asia but also through 
his conquests and the extension of his authority he made 
the route possible to them. Even more than that, the 
growing influence of Russia in western Asia " was exerted 
in behalf of these foreign traders. It was always consid- 

10 Cal. S. P., For., 1566-1568, pp. 492, 493. 

nHakluyt, II, 475, 478, III, 33, 37; Ramband, Russia, I, 75; 
ante, 140, etc. 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 203 

ered necessary to get letters from the Czar to the rulers 
of the lands to be visited, and even as far away as Bok- 
hara Jenkinson is found placing his dependence upon such 
letters. Though this protection sometimes proved to be 
slight, still there was little else to fall back upon except the 
travelers' own resources. 

From another point of view the Russian influence may 
be said to have formed the basis of English activities in 
Asia. In addition to the fact that it was the knowledge 
gained in Russia which revealed to the merchants the pos- 
sibility of making connections with the Asiatic trade routes, 
it is very probable that Anthony Jenkinson in both of his 
voyages was merely following in the track of other traders 
to and from Russia, though this should not be allowed un- 
duly to detract from the boldness of his achievement. 
Situated advantageously near the mouth of the Volga, As- 
trakhan was and for a long time had been a sort of mart 
town for Asiatic merchants, while from it Russian traders 
crossed the Caspian Sea for merchandise. 12 Jenkinson him- 
self, as has been seen, met Persian merchants at Astrakhan, 
and somewhat later Giles Fletcher described the Russian 
trade to Persia for silks and other commodities, especially 
to Derbend and Shemakha, the latter of which he calls the 
staple for raw silk. 13 Furthermore, it is said that the 
people of Bokhara trafficked with Moscow, their commodi- 
ties being spices, musk, ambergris, rhubarb and other 
drugs, and Siberian furs. 14 Taken in this connection it 
was very significant that on his journey to Bokhara Jenkin- 
son undoubtedly followed a w T ell established caravan route 
in company with Tartar and other merchants. It is quite 
reasonable to conclude, therefore, that both the Bokhara 
and the Shemakha routes were at least fairly well known 

12 Hakluyt, II, 473, 476 ; Russe Commonwealth, in Russia at Close 
of Sixteenth Century, 96; Eden, First Three Books on America, 314. 

13 Hakluyt, II, 478; Russe Commonwealth, 96. 

14 Hakluyt, II, 427. 



204 TRADE IN ASIA 

in Russia and that this information furnished the starting 
point for further advance on the part of the Muscovy Com- 
pany. 15 

As was suggested at the beginning of this chapter, there 
were elements of weakness as well as elements of strength 
in the Persian venture. With the latter now in mind, it 
is desirable to consider the former in some detail in order 
to explain the ultimate and complete failure of the com- 
mercial advance into Asia. In following the history of the 
different voyages there appeared certain phases of the situ- 
ation which seemed to make the advanced position of the 
Muscovy Company a very difficult one. Among these may 
be mentioned the absolute dependence of the merchants 
upon the favor of the Shah and the Czar, the competition 
that everywhere met the English from Tartar, Turkish, 
Armenian, and Venetian merchants, and finally, the great 
length, complexity, and danger of the route that had been 
established. Even in the short period under consideration 
these aspects of the movement made themselves felt in a 
very positive way. 

Whenever the Shah or the Czar made a grant of privi- 
leges to the English merchants, it was done voluntarily and 
as a matter of favor, and thus in the same way that it was 
made it might suddenly be changed or abrogated entirely. 
Therefore, it is hardly possible, at least under the then ex- 
isting conditions, to regard such grants as giving a suffi- 
ciently fixed and durable basis for the newly developed 
English commerce. Perhaps sufficient proof of this from 
both the Persian and the Russian side has been given in 
the preceding pages, and so it is enough to recall that the 
whole story of English negotiations with the Czar centered 
around this danger of an abrogation of privileges and that 

is The references to Russian jealousy of the English merchants 
are slight, the only two noted being Early Voyages and Travels, II, 
390, and Ibid., I, introd. CXII. 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 205 

apparently the only thing that saved the situation was the 
Czar's military necessities. The Czar's good- will, of 
course, was even more important than that of the Shah, as 
both the Russian and Persian trade depended upon it. 

Furthermore, the Persian trade had to be conducted in 
the face of competition from long- established and resource- 
ful merchants, and the letters of the English factors con- 
tain many references to these competitors. Apparently the 
Turks were the strongest, because of their control of the 
routes leading to the Mediterranean ports, and perhaps 
because of the fact that the Persians were their fellow re- 
ligionists. At first they were able to thwart Jenkinson's 
plans, but later a change in the Shah's attitude towards 
them enabled Arthur Edwards to obtain trading privi- 
leges. Later still, together with the Armenians and Vene- 
tians, they were found trying to block Bannister's negotia- 
tions as they had those of Jenkinson. In various other 
ways they did what they could to injure the English posi- 
tion in Persia. 16 The Armenians also were strongly in- 
trenched in that country; they brought kersies and other 
cloths from Aleppo or were supplied with them in their 
home markets by Venetian traders, and, as has been seen, 
they were a strong factor in the markets of Shemakha and 
Tabriz. Thus by way of the Levant both Turks and Arme- 
nians were supplied by the Venetians with European 
and perhaps even English wares and passed them on to the 
Persians. Arthur Edwards, for instance, found that con- 
siderable Venetian cloth was sold at Kazvin. 17 But possi- 
bly of most importance are the indications that these com- 
petitors were probably able to undersell the English mer- 
chants or pay more for. native products. 18 It may be added 
that Edwards clearly recognized that the Mediterranean 

16 Hakluyt, III, 141, 142. 

17 Ibid., Ill, 55. 

is Ibid., II, 478, III, 52, 62, 63, 137, 142, etc. 



206 TRADE IN ASIA 

was shorter than the Russian route, while Jenkinson from 
the beginning pointed out that the outlet through Syria 
was a serious drawback to the designs of the Muscovy Com- 
pany in Persia. 19 Taking all these facts together it is evi- 
dent that the existence of the Levant routes should be 
given considerable emphasis as an element of weakness in 
the position of the Muscovy Company. 

Another important source of weakness is to be found in 
the character of the route upon which the trade depended. 
For one thing its great length and complexity should be 
considered. As has been seen, it involved the sea voyage 
around the North Cape to St. Nicholas, thence up the 
Dwina and Sugana in boats to Vologda, where the Com- 
pany had one of its factories, and from there overland to 
Moscow or Jaroslav. This ended the first great stage of 
the journey, as at Jaroslav the expeditions were finally 
fitted out for Persia. But after the long trip down the 
Volga to Astrakhan some further preparations were also 
necessary for the sea voyage. From here the merchants en- 
tered the Caspian and sailed southward to some convenient 
port in Shirvan, from whence the merchandise had to be 
transferred by caravan to Shemakha. And finally, it has 
been seen that Shemakha in turn became the point of de- 
parture for all expeditions to Kazvin or elsewhere in Per- 
sia. The mere description of the route makes comment 
superfluous as regards its length and the number of stops 
and changes that were necessary. 

Such a route evidently required much time and consid- 
erable expense. The earlier stages of the voyage of course 
were the same as those for the Russian trade. It seems 
that at least from one to two months was needed to make 
the trip from Gravesend or Harwich to St. Nicholas, the 
fleet usually sailing in May or June and reaching port 
sometime during July. The journey from Kholmogory, 

isHakluyt, II, 473, 478. 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 207 

near St. Nicholas, to Jaroslav or Moscow occupied the time 
from late in July to the latter part of August or early 
September. With the actual Persian voyage from Jaroslav 
to Astrakhan and Shemakha greater differences appear. 
For example, the number of days taken up by the voyage 
down the Volga varied from twenty-eight to seventy-six, 
while from Astrakhan to Shirvan much depended upon 
propitious conditions, the second expedition occupying only 
nine days, though the most of them took three weeks or 
more, Also the earlier expeditions left Jaroslav in April 
or May, after spending the winter in Russia, while the last 
two got started considerably later and had to remain 
either in Astrakhan or Shemakha for the following winter. 
Several days were usually consumed in the overland jour- 
ney from the port of entry to Shemakha. The quickest 
voyage of all was that of Arthur Edwards in 1568, which 
left Jaroslav in July and landed at Bilbil on August 14. 
Usually the merchants arrived in Shirvan anywhere from 
August to October. Thus, it took considerably over a year 
to make the voyage from England to Persia, while that 
from Russia to Persia could hardly be made with any 
reasonable expectation of being able to return the same 
year. 

In addition to its length and complicated character, the 
route was subject to various hazards and was in the main 
quite open to attack. For one thing, there were the risks 
arising from the navigation of the Volga and the danger 
from storms and shoals when sailing upon the Caspian. If 
the return journey were delayed too long there was the 
further risk of being caught in the ice. However, greater 
actual loss was suffered at the hands of robbers, fear of 
whom was nearly always present both in Persia and in 
southern Russia as well as on the Caspian Sea. Of these 
and other dangers there has been ample illustration in the 
narratives of the , different voyages, and undoubtedly they 



208 TRADE IN ASIA 

added their part to the great burden laid upon the trade 
by the character of the route. 

The disadvantages of the Persian venture so far pointed 
out were very real and important, but they did not pre- 
clude the possibility that the Muscovy Company might be 
able to cope successfully with them and thus bring about a 
reasonably permanent and profitable trade with the coun- 
tries bordering on the Caspian Sea. Moreover, such a re- 
sult does not seem at all improbable when one considers 
how much the Company had accomplished in Asia in the 
short period of twelve years from 1561 to 1573. And be- 
sides, when the downfall of the Persian trade came, it was 
not due primarily to any of the influences discussed above, 
but rather to changing political conditions in the region 
of the Caspian Sea, on both the Russian and the Persian 
side, which were rapidly making its further prosecution 
exceedingly dangerous and in fact practically impossible. 

Shortly after the appearance of the English in Russia 
Ivan IV had reached the height of his power, but soon a 
great change came over him, which made the latter part 
of his reign as great a failure as the earlier part had been 
a success. On both the west and the east his enemies 
pressed him so closely that many of his earlier conquests 
were lost, while at home his people were alienated. His 
struggle with the Tartars of the lower Volga continued 
throughout the period of the Persian voyages, and at times 
it threatened serious consequences to those expeditions, as 
has been shown in the preceding chapters. As long as 
these wars continued there was constant danger that the 
line of communication with Persia would be broken, pos- 
sibly by the capture of Astrakhan itself. 

As bad as conditions became in Russia they will hardly 
compare with the confusion and civil strife in Persia that 
followed the death of Shah Tahmasp in 1576. Dynastic 
troubles led to such disorder that the country seemed 



STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS 209 

rapidly "disintegrating as a result of the weakness of the 
central authority, and these conditions continued for sev- 
eral years, that is, until Abbas the Great succeeded in 
establishing his undisputed sway. Meanwhile, the ene- 
mies of Persia made haste to take advantage of the situa- 
tion; the Uzbeg Tartars again poured into Khorassan, 
other Tartar tribes entered Shirvan, and the Turks began 
to prepare for a renewal of their struggle with the rival 
Mohammedan state. 20 

After various successes in 1578 the Turkish army took 
and fortified Tiflis in Georgia, and then marched towards 
Shirvan. Entering that province they occupied Shemakha 
and Derbend and reduced the whole region to submission. 
Following the withdrawal of the main Turkish force, how- 
ever, the Persians returned and regained Shemakha, whose 
inhabitants they punished for their submission by destroy- 
ing their city. Thereupon they withdrew to Kazvin, leav- 
ing the Turks in possesion of Derbend and Baku. When 
peace was concluded in 1587 the Turks retained these 
places, together with Tabriz, Arrash, and other towns. 21 
It was this advance of the Turkish power to the Caspian 
Sea that deprived the English factors of their base of 
operations, checked the expedition of 1580 and expelled the 
merchants from the country, and severed the line of com- 
munication between England and Persia, thus, for the time 
being at least, effectually preventing any further activity 
in that direction. 22 

Important developments along other lines of approach 
to the coveted trade of the East soon made the further 

20 Malcolm, Persia, I, 333,338; Howorth, Mongols, II, 730. For 
internal conditions in 1586 see report of Giovanni Battista Vechietti 
to the Pope, printed in English Historical Review, VII, 314-321. 

siHakluyt, III, 224, 234; Knolles, Historie of the Turks, 376-395, 
432. 

22 Camden, Annals of Queen Elizabeth, 124; Hanway, Historical 
Account, I, 6. The former adds as a second cause the losses through 
robbery. 



210 TRADE IN ASIA 

prosecution of the Persian trade by way of Russia and the 
Caspian much less attractive and desirable to Englishmen. 
The Turkey or Levant Company, founded in 1581, brought 
English merchants in touch with southern Persia and In- 
dia by a more direct and practicable route than that of the 
Muscovy Company. Furthermore, just at the close of the 
century the foundation of the East India Company led to 
the successful establishment of English trade in the East 
by way of the sea and made the southern extremity of the 
Persian Gulf the center of English activity in the develop- 
ment of the Persian trade, while the northern route by 
way of the Caspian Sea ultimately fell to Russia. Though 
they had failed in their purpose, the factors of the Mus- 
covy Company are worthy of remembrance for their 
struggle of twenty years to found such an Asiatic trade. 
It was a struggle that called for the same qualities that 
Englishmen were showing elsewhere and to its leaders be- 
longs a place in the list of those explorers and traders who 
have made the epoch so noteworthy. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



CONTEMPORARY SOURCES 



Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series. Edited by W. Noel Saints- 
bury, by the Hon. J. W. Fortesque, and by C. Headlam. 19 
vols. London, 1860 . 

Domestic Series, of the Reigns of Edward VI, Mary, Eliza- 
beth, and James I. Edited by Robert Lemon and by Mary 
Anne Everett Green. 12 vols. London, 1856-1872. 
-Foreign Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth. Edited by Rev. 



Joseph Stevenson, by Allan James Crosby, and by Arthur 
John Butler. 15 vols. London, 1863-1907. 

A considerable number of documents bearing upon the 
Persian expeditions are given in these Calendars, but most 
of this material has been printed in full in the collections 
named below. In the Colonial Series the first volume for 
the East Indies calendars all the papers on the subject from 
the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and the India 
Office. The letters of Bannister and Duckett are fully ab* 
stracted in the Cal. S. P. For., and have not been printed 
elsewhere. 

Eden, Richard. The History of Travayle in the West and East In- 
dies. Arranged and augmented by Richard Willes. Lon- 
don, 1577. 

Eden gives a brief account of Jenkinson's Persian voyage, 
prints the privileges granted by the Shah in 1566 and 1569, 
and gives some further information. However, the chief 
contribution is Richard Willes' notes on the fourth voyage, 
which were later printed in Hakluyt. 

Fletcher, Dr. Giles, and Horsey, Sir Jerome. Russia at the Close of 
the Sixteenth Century. Comprising the treatise, "Of the 
Russe Commonwealth," by Dr. Giles Fletcher and the "Trav- 
els of Sir Jerome Horsey." Edited by Edward A. Bond. 
Hakluyt Society Publications. London, 1856. 

Both works treat of the period following that under con- 
sideration, but they furnish some points of information on 
the earlier period. Of most interest is the memorial of 
Michael Lok on the Russian and Persian trade, printed in 
full in the Introduction. 

Hakluyt, Richard. The Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques 
& Discoveries of the English Nation Made by Sea or Over- 
land to the Remote and Farthest Distant Quarters of the 
Earth at any time within the compasse of these 1600 yeeres. 
12 vols. Glasgow, 1903-1905. 
211 



212 TRADE IN ASIA 

The great collection of Elizabethan voyages, indispensa- 
ble for the subject in hand, as we are dependent upon it 
for most of the narratives of the Persian expeditions and 
for other important material, as, for example, the Parlia- 
mentary charter of 1566. The large number of documents, 
letters, and descriptions, made use of in this account of 
the Muscovy Company's activities in Asia is fully brought 
out by the footnotes. 

Jenkinson, Anthony, and Other Englishmen. Early Voyages and 
Travels to Russia and Persia. Edited by E. Delmar Mor- 
gan and C. H. Coote. Hakluyt Society Publications. 2 
vols. London, 1886. 

While primarily giving documents illustrative of the 
life and travels of Anthony Jenkinson, these volumes also 
include the narratives of other English factors who were 
sent to Persia. They include some important material not 
found in Hakluyt, and form the fullest and best collection 
for the study of the voyages into western Asia. 

Purchas, Samuel. Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas His Pilgrimes 
Contayning a History of tlve World in Sea Voyages and Land 
Travels by Englishmen and others. 20 vols. Glasgow, 1905- 
1907. 

Contains some material already printed in Hakluyt, as, 
for example, the account of Jenkinson's first voyage and 
Christopher Burrough's notes on the sixth Persian voyage. 

Queen Elizabeth and Her Times. A Series of Original Letters, se- 
lected from the inedited Private Correspondence of the Lord 
Treasurer Burghley and others. Edited by Thomas Wright. 
2 vols. London, 1838. 

Contains a letter of William Smith to James Wodcoke 
(May 15, 1572), which gives an excellent glimpse of the 
troubles of the fifth Persian voyage from the point of view 
of the factor sent to Astrakhan to meet the expedition. 

Tolstoy, George. The First Forty Tears of Intercourse between 
England and Russia. St. Petersburg, 1875. 

A collection of documents given both in English and Rus- 
sian. Of much less value for the Persian than for the 
Russian activities of the English merchants, but indispen- 
sable for the study of Anglo-Russian diplomatic relations. 

Warner, William. Albion's England. London, 1602. An interest- 
ing metrical account of Jenkinson's travels may be found 
in this work. 

MODERN WORKS 

Anderson, Adam. An Historical and Chronological Deduction of the 
Origin of Commerce. 4 vols. London, 1 787- 1789, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 213 

In this work there are brief and scattered references to 
the successive voyages to Persia. MacPherson, Annals of 
Commerce, merely incorporates for this period the work of 
Anderson. 

Casimir, Nicholas. The English in Muscovy in the Sixteenth Cen- 
tury. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (Vol. 
VII). London, 1878. 

A fairly good account of the diplomatic relations be- 
tween England and Russia, made up largely of documentary 
material. 

Cawston, George, and Keane, A. H. The Early Chartered Com- 
panies. London and New York, 1896. 

Very brief and hardly satisfactory on the Persian phase 
of the activities of the Muscovy Company. 

Curzon, Hon. George N. Persia and the Persian Question. 2 vols. 
London and New York, 1892. 

These volumes contain much information on Persia. 
Chapter XXIX, Part 1, briefly sketches the Anglo-Persian 
trading relations from their beginnings to the latter part 
of the nineteenth century. The map and the bibliographies 
in the footnotes are most useful. 

Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen. 63 
vols. 3 vols, supplement. New York, 1885-1901. 

Articles on Anthony Jenkinson, Thomas Alcock, and 
Christopher Burrough. 

Hamel, Joseph. England and Russia. Translated by J. S. Leigh. 
London, 1854. 

Of value for the period it covers, but its value is much 
lessened by the failure to give references. Its allusions 
to the Persian voyages are slight and only incidental. 

Hanway, Jonas. An Historical Account of the British Trade over 
the Caspian Sea. Second edition. 2 vols. London, 1754. 
The author also includes an account of his travels and 
a history of the revolutions in Persia, especially in the 
eighteenth century. Though dealing with a period later 
than the one under consideration, this work discusses in 
detail some of the same difficulties and problems that con- 
fronted the Elizabethan traders in Persia, and thus in- 
directly it throws considerable light on the earlier move- 
ment. Hanway's references to his predecessors are neither 
extensive nor valuable. 

Howorth, Henry H. History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 
19th Century. Two parts, 3 vols. London, 1876-1880. 

Useful for the history of the Tartars during the period 
of the Anglo-Persian venture. 

Huntington, Ellsworth. The Pulse of Asia. Boston and New York, 
1907. 



214 TRADE IN ASIA 

Chapter XVII gives a summary of the arguments and 
conclusions regarding the Caspian Sea and the Oxus River 
from the earliest times down. This chapter, somewhat 
modified, may be found in the American Geographical So- 
ciety Bulletin, vol. 39, pp. 577-596, under the title "His- 
toric Fluctuations of the Caspian Sea." These geographical 
questions have a close connection with the subject of Jen- 
kinson's route to Bokhara. 

Jurien de la Graviere, J. B. E. Les Marins de XV* et XVIe Siecle. 
2 vols. Paris, 1879. 

Les Marins de XVI* Siecle. Revue des deux Mondes. 

Paris, 1876. 

This French work covers in detail the two eastern voy- 
ages of Anthony Jenkinson as well as the earlier work of 
Cabot, Chancellor and the English merchants in Russia. 
However, it merely follows Jenkinson's own account of these 
voyages almost without variation of plan. The five ar- 
ticles in the Revue cover practically the same ground as the 
book. 

Malcolm, Sir John. The History of Persia from the Most Early 
Period to the Present Time. New edition, revised. 2 vols. 
London, 1829. 

Though an old book, Malcolm's is still recognized as the 
best history of Persia. 

Milton, John. A Brief History of Moscovia, and of other less known 
Countries lying Eastward of Russia as far as Cathay. 
Gathered from the Writings of Several Eye-witnesses. In 
Prose Works (Bell), Vol. V. London, 1884. 

Though based upon the sources indicated, the portions 
bearing on Persia are very brief and annalistic in char- 
acter, and do not give much idea of the movement. 

Origin and Early History of the Russia or Muscovy Company 
{The). London, 1830. 

Compiled from Hakluyt and Purchas, but carelessly done. 
Brief and of little value. 



English Trade in the Baltic During 
the Reign of Elizabeth 



Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Pennsylvania in partial fulfilment of the requirements 
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1911. 



By NEVA RUTH DEARDORFF, Ph.D. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Elements of the Eastland Trade, 1550-1603 . . .219 

Introduction 219 

The imports from the East Countries 221 

The exports from England 230 

Obstacles to the development of the trade . . . 233 

The danger of the voyage 234 

The Danish-Swedish War 235 

Competition with the Hanse Towns 239 

The volume of the trade 245 

II. The Eastland Company 248 

Its formation 248 

Its organization 254 

Its relations with the government 273 

III. The Establishment of the Eastland Company at Elbing . 286 

The political situation in Poland 287 

Early negotiations between the merchants and the town 

of Elbing 292 

The mission of Rogers 295 

The mission of Herbert 306 

Settlement of points in dispute 308 

Conclusion 326 

Appendix 329 

Bibliographical Notes 331 



ENGLISH TRADE IN THE BALTIC DURING THE 
REIGN OP ELIZABETH 

CHAPTER I 

THE ELEMENTS OF THE EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603. 

By the middle years of the sixteenth century England 
had already entered upon a period of marked commercial 
expansion. By that time the English nation had become 
conscious of distinct commercial desires and ambitions. 
Englishmen talked of the trade of England and compared 
it with that of other national states in existence at that 
time. They were eager to advance their economic inter- 
ests. But in entering the race for economic power they 
were handicapped in many ways. On account of the leth- 
argy in these matters which had characterized the gen- 
erations just preceding them, they now found themselves 
circumscribed by rather narrow territorial limits. Lack of 
exact geographical knowledge seems to have rendered 
North America only a somewhat hazy conception, suggest- 
ing little more to the minds of the early Elizabethans than 
the chagrin caused by finding such a stubborn barrier ly- 
ing in the way of their reaching the Indies by sailing west. 
As for Spanish America as a place in which to develop a 
settled trade, it was out of the question. It took a bold 
Englishman even occasionally to break through the Spanish 
monopoly on a half piratical venture. Portugal was do- 
ing her best to hold western Africa as a field for her own 
exclusive trade. India and the far East were known to 
Englishmen only through the accounts of men of other na- 
tionalities until far into Elizabeth's reign and English 
commerce with that country belongs to the seventeenth cen- 
tury. So that, so far as opportunities for colonial trade 
were concerned, the outlook must have seemed far from 
encouraging to the Englishmen of 1550. 

It is true that England had numerous trade connec- 

219 



220 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

tions with the Netherlands, France, Spain and Portugal, 
but these countries were as anxious as she for commercial 
supremacy. Englishmen could scarcely hope to establish 
themselves so firmly or to make themselves so indispensable 
to these nations that their trade would flourish in spite of 
political and religious conflicts and in the face of local jeal- 
ousy and opposition. The Merchant Adventurers, the 
strongest English trade organization of the time, could hold 
its position in Antwerp but a few years after it became 
evident that England and Spain would eventually take 
up arms. 

But there were places where the English merchants of 
this time thought they saw opportunities for trade. A 
northeast route to China had never been tried, so now they 
decided to lose no more time. Growing out of their at- 
tempt to find such a route came the opening of trade with 
Russia. And then, ever keeping the goal of the Orient 
before their eyes, they pressed on until they reached Persia 
and established commercial relations between England and 
that distant land. 

Although the English were eagerly taking up the "search 
of newe trades ' ' x they were by no means losing sight of the 
possibilities that lay in certain old familiar ones. If they 
had failed to make their way to China and the far East, 
they at least knew the Levant where they could tap the 
flow of commerce as it passed along the ancient trade routes 
leading from eastern Asia to the Mediterranean. They 
were also keenly aware of the rich commercial opportuni- 
ties offered by Germany. There the Merchant Adventur- 
ers could depend upon the lack of cohesion among the 
political units to afford them a chance to use local ambi- 
tions and jealousies to further their interests and secure 
protection and concessions for trade. Besides the Levant 

i Hakluyt, Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Dis- 
coveries of the English Nation, Glasgow, 1903-1905, II, p. 240. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 221 

and Germany there still remained the old trading connec- 
tion with the Baltic countries, Prussia, Poland, Livonia 
and Esthonia — regions known in England at this time as 
Eastland — and it is this trade that is the subject of our 
special and detailed inquiry. 

In considering the trade between two countries one must 
inquire into the productions of each and ascertain whether 
either produces goods likely to be in demand in the other. 
Such an inquiry directed toward the Baltic country in its 
relation to England shows that the former region yielded 
goods of vital importance to the English. 

Foremost among the productions of Eastland come ship 
stores. For an island people with depleted forests, scarcely 
anything outside the absolute necessities of life could be of 
greater importance. England's political and economic sal- 
vation, then as later, depended upon her having an ade- 
quate navy. But for much of the material out of which 
to construct the ships of this navy, she had to go abroad. 
Since the resources of North America were practically un- 
known to the Englishmen of the sixteenth century, almost 
the only place from which they could procure naval sup- 
plies was the Baltic countries. In 1547 the King of Eng- 
land dealt with the Hanse Towns through the Steelyard 
"in suche merchandise and wares as his Majeste is wonte 
as the case requireth to have owte of those partes for the 
furniture of his Navie, as cables, mastes, ankers, pyche, 
flaxe and such other" to the value of 50,000 crowns. 2 
During the years 1551, 1553 and 1554 the Hansards were 
bringing pitch, tar, flax, hemp and iron into England. 3 
The next year the English were evidently engaged in 
somewhat extensive trade in those commodities, for in 
February of that year the Privy Council wrote to the Eng- 

2 Acts of the Privy Council, New Series, London, 1890 — , II, p. 61. 

3 Schanz, Englische HandelspQlitik geger^ Etide des MittelalterS) 
Leipzig, 1881, J, p. 223 note, 



222 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

lish merchants ' ' being presentlie in the citie of Dansick, and 
thier factours, that where it is enfourmed . . . that 
dyvers of them have bought upp all the hempe and cable 
yarne that is in the said citie, and have also gotten a 
graunte of all the rope makers there to spynne for them 
untill midsomer next, they are charged to desiste from 
thiese thier doinges untill suche tyme William Watson, 
presently sent thither to make provision for cable for the 
Queues Majesties Navye, be f urnisshed of the same. ' ' 4 A 
few years later (1558) permission was given by Sigismund 
Augustus, King of Poland, to this same William Wat- 
son to purchase materials in Dantzig for her Majesty's 
Navy. 5 In the next decade Thomas Allen was sent five 
times to Dantzig for this purpose. 6 Indeed, in doing this 
the English seem to have been only following the tradi- 
tional line of trade for these goods. As the officials of 
the Muscovy Company said in 1564, " suche wares haue 
beene allwaies brought out & from the East Seas as from 
Danske and other places adioyninge. ' ' 7 

How dependent England was on the East Countries for 
naval supplies is illustrated by a letter, dated August 22, 
1568, 8 sent to Cecil by Thomas Bannister and Geoffrey 
Duckett. In this communication these merchants en- 
larged upon the advantages that were to be gained by en- 
couraging the Muscovy Company; and among these advan- 
tages they maintained that this company would furnish 
the Queen's navy with cables, cordage, masts, sails, pitch 
and tar whereby her Grace would be "delivered out of the 
bondage of the King of Denmark and the town of Dant- 
zick." 9 

4 A. P. C, V, p. 236. 

b Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, 1553-1558, p. 375. 
« C. S. P., For., 1561-1562, p. 81; Forty-fifth Report of the Deputy 
Keeper of the Public Records, App. II, pp. 23-24. 
i S. P., Dom., Eliz. 35, f. 23. 

s The new style of dating has been used in this essay. 
»C. S. P., For., 1566-1568, p. 518. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 223 

In the year 1581 Thomas Allen was again engaged in 
securing naval stores in the East Countries. 10 Some years 
later in 1590 his purchases there must have been some- 
what extensive, for he mentions having advanced £3000 
[$75,000 in modern values] from his own money to pur- 
chase masts. 11 In the same year Ralph Querneby and 
Robert Savage shipped for the navy Norway masts cost- 
ing over £337 [$8,000] . 12 Apparently the Queen pur- 
chased in all over £5,600 [$130,000] worth of cables, masts 
and oars in the East Parts during the autumn of 1589' and 
spring of 1590. 13 In fact these things were of so much 
importance that the English ambassador at the Porte per- 
suaded the Sultan to postpone an attack upon Poland 
which he was planning. Understanding that "her Maj- 
esty had great need of many things from the country 
necessary for her navy, he withdrew his force, 
though he was assured of victory, only for her Majesty's 
sake, who received great thanks from the King of 
Poland." 14 

In the latter years of the century when the struggle 
with Spain had grown so acute and so much depended upon 
England's power on the sea, it became still more impor- 
tant for England to have some place where she could con- 
stantly replenish her supply of naval stores. The situa- 
tion was still further complicated by the fact that Spain 
was also in the market for these goods. This state of things 
is reflected in the Spanish "advertisements" of Robert 
Savage of February, 1598. At that time he wrote: "Last 
year I disappointed the King of Spain's factors of 
24 great masts that were in Dantzig, 18 of which I 



io C. S. P., Dom., 1581-1590, pp. 24 and 26. 
ii C. S. P., Dom., 1581-1590, p. 701. 

12 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 233, f. 81. 

13 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 225, f. 62 and Eliz. 233 f. 24. 

I* Lodge, Illustrations of British History, London, 1838, II, p. 414. 



224 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

brought thither, for Her Majesty, but the rest are lying at 
Dantzig." 15 

At the beginning of the seventeenth century the East 
Countries remained the principal source of supply for this 
kind of goods. Wheeler, whose "Treatise of Commerce " 
appeared in 1601, gives a list of all the goods imported into 
England from all the countries with which she had trad- 
ing relations. In the list for Eastland the ship stores are 
especially conspicuous — flax, hemp, pitch, tar, deal-boards, 
oars, cables and cable yarn, ropes and masts for ships. 16 In 
1603 James I appointed Simeon Furner his agent in the 
East Countries for supplying the navy with "pitch, tar, 
hemp, flax, oakum, sailcloth, cables, ropes, masts, iron, firs, 
deals, etc." 17 

We can hardly over-estimate the importance of these 
goods for England at this time. These were the instru- 
ments which she used to assure her position in relation 
to the other powers, particularly Spain. These were the 
tools with which she worked in laying the foundations for 
two of the greatest elements in all of her subsequent his- 
tory, colonial empire and its complement, power on the 
sea. 

Of scarcely less importance was the import of grain from 
Eastland. At this time English agriculture was still in 
the state of transition from tillage in open fields to graz- 
ing in enclosures. 18 This occasioned much uncertainty as 
to the grain supply and the country was haunted through- 
out the sixteenth century by constant apprehensions of a 
dearth. In such a condition of things it was vastly im- 
portant to have some definite place to which to go in order 

is C. S. P., Dom., 1598-1601, p. 29. 

is Wheeler, A Treatise of Commerce, London, 1601, p. 23. 

17 C. S. P., Dom., Add., 1580-1625, p. 423. 

is Cheyney, Social Changes in England in the Sixteenth Century, 
Part I, Rural Changes, 1895. University of Pennsylvania Publica- 
tions, Series in Philology, Literature and Archeology, IV, No. 2. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 225 

to replenish the supply of bread stuffs. In 1551 (Febru- 
ary 8) the Privy Council wrote to Thomas Watson to 
provide 12,000 quarters of rye and 4000 quarters of 
wheat "in Estelande or Danske, to be brought into this 
realme, parte for the Northe Parties, parte to London, 
Portesmouthe and the South." 19 In August, 1558, Wil- 
liam Burnell brought to London 300 quarters of wheat 
"w* 11 he broughte and pvydyd in dansyk for the vse of the 
saide cy tye " ; 20 and at about the same time we hear of 
"Will" 1 Frankelande clothe worker who of late hathe 
brought cc quarters of wheate oute of dansk to this cyty. ' ' 21 
In November, 1562, Sir Thomas Smith, then in Prance, 
wrote to the Queen that as corn was likely to be 
very dear in England that year, there might be some 
trouble, especially if the Papists took advantage of the 
situation. He advised as a preventive measure that she 
should take order with her merchants to bring from Dant- 
zig to London a great store of wheat and rye. 22 In April, 
1574, we hear of the ' ' Shipps of corne that cometh for this 
cytie out of Danske. ' ' 23 Indeed we can have little doubt 
but that George Liesemann, a Steelyard merchant, spoke 
the truth in 1579 when he said that certain goods produced 
in the Eastland were indispensable to the English. This was 
especially the case, he said, "of the precious grain, of 
which, it is true, they often have enough, but it also fre- 
quently happens that they have too little," just as shortly 
before there would have been a great riot in London on 
account of the scarcity of bread, had not ships soon pro- 
cured a supply in Prussia. 24 

i9 A. P. C, III, p. 202. 

20 Records at the Guildhall at London, Repertory 13, Pt. II, f. 529. 

2i R. G. L., Repertory 13, Pt. II, f. 526 b. 

22 C. S. P., For., 1562, p. 435. 

23 R. G. L., Repertory 18, f. 191 b. 

24 Ehrenberg, Hamburg und England im Zeitalter der Eonigin 
Elizabeth, Jena, 1896, p. 150. 



226 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

The last twenty years of Elizabeth's reign saw several 
failures of crops in England. In 1586 there must have 
been a serious shortage of grain, especially in the 
west of England, if we can rely upon an unsigned 
document in which there is a discussion of the 
price of grain for that year. This document sets forth 
that "Duringe the moste parte of this somer corne con- 
tinued at greate and highe prices, notwithstandinge all the 
pollicie and consultacion taken against the same. This ex- 
treamitie appeared and remayned more in the Countie of 
Heref [ord] and the forest of Deane then in the cittie of 
Glouc. and other partes in the Countie of Glouc. and more 
in the Countie of Glouc. then in any other schiere adjoyn- 
inge savinge in Bristol!, where for a space they were harde 
and distressed." . . . The possible suffering was alle- 
viated, however, by an importation of grain from the East. 
The writer of this document continues, "the greate plentie 
of corne that came to London from Dannske, Hamburge and 
other places beyonde the seas kept downe the prices and 
from thence good store came to Bristoll, parte wherof was 
gotten hither from thence, and some provision was made 
from London to Glouc." 25 In this year we hear of "Wil- 
liam Gittens, Edward Longe and William Colston [who 
were] retorning from Dansyke with corn." 26 The need 
was apparently so pressing that the Privy Council gave 
permission to certain merchants of Bristol to trade into 
the East Parts with two or three ships and to return with 
grain only, although this was breaking a monopoly of that 
trade which they had granted some years before. 27 In 
connection with this affair the Council spoke of the Baltic 
countries as "those parts beyonde the Seas fromm hence 

25 Hist. MSS. Com. 12th Report, App. IX, p. 459. (The MSS. of 
the Duke of Beaufort, the Earl of Donoughmore, and others.) 

26 A. P. C, XIV, p. 267. 

27 C. S. P., Dom., 1581-1590, p. 336. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 227 

plentye of grayne is vsuallie had." 28 The municipal au- 
thorities of London also took steps to see that grain was 
brought from the East Parts to meet the demand that pre- 
vailed in the city. 29 

The suffering in 1586 furnished a lesson to the alder- 
men. The next year when a scarcity seemed imminent 
they ordered that a conference be held with certain East- 
land merchants f or " a newe sup ply e of twenty e or thrytye 
thowsand quarters of wheate and Rye for the Store and 
provysyon of thys cyttye. " 30 In 1589 Hugh Offley, one 
of these merchants, found in London a market for 2000 
quarters of "Eastland Rye good sweete and merchaunt- 
table." 31 

Although England did not send any great armies to the 
Continent in this period, even the small ones which she 
did send could not be provisioned from home. In 1590 
and 1591 the English garrisons in the Low Countries 
were provisioned by corn purchased either there or at 
Dantzig. 32 

When Bacon wrote in 1592 that "whereas England 
was wont to be fed by other countries from the East, it 
now sufficeth to feed other countries, " 33 he was describing 
a condition that not only was of very recent origin but 
was also destined not to last many years. In 1594 and 
1595 there was so great a dearth that in July of 1594 the 
aldermen of London ordered that 3000 quarters of rye and 
1000 quarters of wheate be brought in 34 and in September 
of 1595 they called the Eastland merchants before them 

28 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 190, f. 60. 

29 R. G. L., Repertory 21, f. 288 b. 

30 R. G. L., Repertory 21, f. 363 b. 
3i R. G. L., Repertory 22, f. 128 b. 

32 C. S. P., Dom., 1591-1594, p. 115. 

33 Spedding, Life and Letters of Francis Bacon, London, 1861-1868, 
I, p. 158. 

34 R. G. L., Repertory 23, ff. 257 and 262. 



228 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

and "treated with them to make provicion of som com- 
petent quantity of wheat and Rye to bee brought from 
hence. 35 The year 1596 saw large importations of grain 
into England from the Baltic countries. It is in that year 
that we hear of a "great arrival of Danske rye" at New- 
castle, 36 and of the purchase, by the city of London of 
500 quarters of "Danske wheat" from "John "Wilkes, 
m r chaunttailor. " 37 In the same season at least two com- 
mittees of aldermen were instructed to "conferr w th the 
m r chaunts trading the Easte contreyes for provision of 
corne to be brought to this cittie from the parts beyonde 
the Seas. " 38 As a result of some of the contracts made at 
this time, we find that in the following spring thirty-two 
merchants brought into the port of London 740 quarters 
of wheat and 19,405 quarters of rye. 39 Wheeler in 1601 
mentions corn as one of the imports from the Baltic coun- 
tries 40 and we know that in the same year Roger Clark 
brought 200 quarters of rye from Dantzig to London. 41 
This importation of grain was apparently of so much con- 
sequence that in 1606 the aldermen of London considered 
the question of applying to the Privy Council "That the 
English merchants trading into the Eastlands maye bring 
into this Mngdome corne out of those countreys, and here 
to kepe a staple thereof. ' ' 42 

A trade which handled goods to meet a need so primary 
as this of grain in England, must have seemed then, as it 
does now, of great economic importance. 

Besides naval stores and grain the East Country pro- 

35 R. G. L., Remembrancia [printed], II, p. 104. 

36 Hist. Mss. Com. Report on Hatfield House Mss., VI, p. 377. 

37 R. G. L., Repertory 24, f. 39. 

38 R. G. L., Repertory 23, ff. 571 b and 573. 

39 C. S. P., Dom., 1595-1597, p. 442. 

40 Wheeler, p. 23. 

4i R. G. L., Repertory 25, f. 262. 
42 R. G. L., Repertory 27, f. 305 b. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 229' 

duced other things which England wanted. Among these 
was nitre. Although the English made repeated efforts to 
manufacture gunpowder at home and may in some cases 
have succeeded, they never felt independent of the Conti- 
nent for this important commodity. In 1561 Gresham was 
engaged in bringing it from "Osterland" to England. 43 
In 1581 "Sault peter and gon-powlder" are mentioned 
among the Baltic imports "whych her Ma tie doth vse for 
her higness shippes. ' ' 44 The importation continued and by 
1591 it must have been considerable, for at that time Johan 
Gerds, a servant of the Duke of Pomerania, informed 
Burghley that "The said Duke lately granted free export 
of a large quantity of nitre (the export of which, as well 
as of munitions of war, from his dominion is . . . in- 
terdicted) because he was informed that it was purchased 
for the use of the Queen's Majesty;" 45 . . . 

The trade in nitre, however, was a matter of some un- 
certainty because of the widespread demand for that com- 
modity and also because of its political importance. At 
times the English could not be sure of getting it even from 
the well-disposed Duke of Pomerania. For instance, in 1595 
a " Mr. Furner, ... a merchant of London . . . 
being commanded to provide 100 lasts of saltpetre, which 
he undertook to deliver within six months, to supply the 
provisions that went out of the stores for the Cadiz voyage, 
could not perform it, as the Duke of Pomerland would not 
suffer his country to be weakened of a matter of such 
strength . . ," 46 But in general the supply seems to 
have been sufficient to warrant its being included in a list 
of imports from Dantzig compiled by the customer, Plump- 
ton, in the last years of Elizabeth's reign. 47 

« C. S. P., For., 1561-1562, pp. 1-2. 

44 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 150, No. 22. 

45 Hist. MSS. Com. Report on Hatfield House MSS., IV, p. 165. 

46 C. S. P., Dom., 1598-1601, pp. 470-1. 
4TLansdowne 110, f. 157. 



230 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

The East Country had been one of the main sources of 
the supply of bowstaves for England. By 1574, however, 
they seem not to have been especially valued there. 
" These are not worth above 4 1. or 5 1. the hundred at 
most, being hollow wood and full of sap by reason of 
the coldness of the country. ' ' 48 

Furs are repeatedly mentioned among the imports from 
the East Country, but by this time these must have been 
only of minor importance. 49 

Wheeler also mentions soap-ashes as one of the imports 
from the Baltic. 50 It is impossible to determine how great 
was this import during the sixteenth century, but later it 
assumed rather large proportions. On February 9, 1624, 
the Eastland merchants declared potash to be a fourth part 
of their trade. At that time they were importing £30,000 
worth a year. 51 

Other articles brought into England by the Eastland 
merchants were vitriol, copperas " better than could be 
produced in England, ' ' 52 stock-fish 52 and as Wheeler says 
" almost whatsoever is made or groweth in the East 
Countries. ' ' 53 

And now we must look upon the other side of the shield. 
What had England to offer in exchange for these goods? 
Or what did she produce for which she might be seeking 
a foreign market? An investigation of this point shows 
that woolen textiles were England's great export at this 
time. Instead of exporting wool, as she had done in the 
Middle Ages, she was now exporting cloth. In 1550 the 
Steelyard merchants exported 43,000 pieces. 54 At the be- 
ginning of Elizabeth's reign the Merchant Adventurers 

48 Hist. MSS. Com. Report on Hatfield House MSS., II, pp. 82-3. 

49 Wheeler, p. 23; S. P., Dom., Eliz. 150, No. 22. 
so Wheeler, p. 23. 

si C. S. P., Dom., 1623-1625, pp. 128 and 154. 

52 Schanz, I, 233 n.; R. G. L., Remembrancia, II, p. 311. 

53 Wheeler, p. 23. 54 Ehrenberg, p. 51. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 231 

were sending 100,000 pieces of cloth a year to the Conti- 
nent. 55 In the years 1564 and 1565 England's total ex- 
port amounted to about £1,000,000 of which wool and wool 
fells composed some £92,000, while woolen cloths and other 
woolen wares amounted to £896,000. 56 In 1601 Wheeler 
spoke of cloth as the ' ' principallest commodity of the 
realm" 57 and the "Credite and Creame of the Land." 58 
That the English used cloth as an export to Eastland 
there is abundant proof. In September of 1551 Sir John 
Borthwick "the Kinges Majesties Agent in Danske" was 
required "to further the realease of iiij xx xvj [96] 
clothes of Thomas Bannaster of London, stayed in the sayd 
towne. " 59 In 1552 we hear of the ' ' carseys ' ' belonging to 
William Lane of London and John Baptist Cavalcant, 
Florentine, taken by the Marquis of Brandenburgh. 60 In 
1553 Thomas Bannister had trouble getting cloths through 
the Sound. 61 In 1558 when Adolph, the Duke of Schleswig- 
Holstein was taking an interest in developing trade with 
England, cloth was considered the main article of export 
from England. 62 A document of the year 1561 on the 
sale of English cloths on the Continent sets forth that Suf- 
folk cloths in colors, western reds and blues are wholly 
consumed in Eastland, Spain, Portugal and Barbary. 63 
The next year Eric XIV of Sweden requested the Queen 
to grant to his factors the privilege of buying and export- 
ing yearly sufficient cloth for clothing his retinue. 64 In 

5 5 Burgon, The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham, London, 
1839, I, p. 188. 

se Ehrenberg, p. 80. 

57 Wheeler, p. 55. 

58 Wheeler, p. 62. 

59 A. P. C, III, p. 365. 
eo A. P. C, IV, pp. 74-75. 

ei C. S. P., For., 1553-1558, p. 168. 

62 C. S. P., For., 1558-1559, p. 13. 

63 C. S. P., For., 1560-1561, p. 524. 

64 C. S. P., For., 1562, p. 412. 



232 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

1564 the Queen instructed the Marquis of Winchester to 
grant licence to certain persons to export colored cloths 
to Dantzig. 65 In the next year in a letter to the King of 
Denmark, the Queen remonstrated with that monarch for 
the excessive tolls he exacted at the Sound. In this remon- 
strance she mentions the four thalers levied on each piece 
of English cloth as the greatest hardship. 66 That same 
year (1565) the Merchant Adventurers sent in to the 
Privy Council a memorial on the condition of English 
trade at that time. In this they spoke of " suche of the 
said commodities as are to be spent in Media, Russia and 
Danswick, and by easte and northeeaste of the Sound, may 
be transported dyrectly to those places . . . Those 
commodities, beinge the greateste parte of the draperie of 
this realm, wich be to be spent in Denmarke, Swethyn, 
Pommerland, Mechelbroughe " 67 etc., etc. This kind of 
evidence exists for practically every year of Elizabeth's 
reign. 

The Eastland trade in cloth was especially lucrative to 
the English merchants. In 1573 Dr. Valentine Dale had 
an interview with Katherine de Medici whose son, the 
Duke of Anjou, had just been elected to the throne of Po- 
land, "whereupon he told her how ancient the amity had 
been between the Queen's [Elizabeth's] progenitors and 
the subjects of Poland and . . . how much her ships 
and mariners were in estimation with the Muscovite and 
the Kings of Denmark and Sweden, and what riches did 
come of the staple that was at Dantzig for cloth. ' ' 68 On 
March 30, 1603, Giovanni Carlo Scaramelli, Venetian Sec- 
retary in England, wrote to the Doge and Senate " . . . 
both the public and private revenues derive great profit 

65 C. S. P., Dom., 1547-1580, p. 237. 

66 45th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Eec. App. II, p. 23. 

67 Kervyn de Lettenhove, Relations Politiques de Pays-Bas et de 
VAngleterre, Brussels, 1882-1891, IV, p. 526. 

es C. S. P., For., 1572-1574, p. 393. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 233 

from the export of woollens, tin, lead, etc., from England 
to Poland and Prussia ; " 69 . . . 

Although cloth was by far the greatest export from Eng- 
land to Eastland, it was not the only one. Cony skins were 
taken thence, apparently in large numbers. In 1565 
Thomas Allen took four ships laden with them and cloth 
to Dantzig to obtain materials for the Queen's navy. 70 In 
the latter part of Elizabeth's reign we hear of large quan- 
tities of them being sent through the Sound, as many as 
500,000 in a single cargo. 71 Indeed, when, about this 
time, Elizabeth gave a patent to two of her gentle- 
men pensioners for the sole licence to export conyskins, the 
Eastland merchants protested vigorously, asserting that 
the trade of transporting "conyskynnes spetiallie grey 
. . . hathe bene a great trade into the partes of Dan- 
sick and other Cuntreys beyond the Seas and diuerse mer- 
chants her Maiesties true and lovinge subiects brought vp 
therein." 72 

Other articles exported by the English to this region 
were tin, 73 lead, 74 and coals from Newcastle. 74 

These then were the exports. It is noticeable that the 
English found in Eastland a market for every kind of 
goods which they had to offer. 75 

When the English traders in the early years of Eliza- 
beth 's reign set out to gain control of the Baltic trade they 

es C. S. P., Venetian, 1592-1603, p. 556. 

to 45th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec., App. II, p. 23. 

7i Rymer, Foedera, Conventiones, Literae et cujuscunque generis 
Acta Publico, inter Beges Angliae, Hagae Comitie edition, 1742, VII, 
Pt. I, 203. 

72 S. P., Dom., Eliz., 265, f. 67. 

73 Rymer, Foedera, VII, Pt. I, p. 203; C. S. P., Dom., 1595-1597, 
pp. 81-82; C. S. P., Venetian, 1592-1603, p. 556. 

74 C. S. P., For., 1579-1580, p. 263. 

75 A list of all of England's articles of export in the last decade 
of Elizabeth's reign is found in the report of the customer, Plump- 
ton. Lansdowne 110, f. 158. 



234 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

were confronted with certain definite problems, certain ob- 
stacles to overcome. Some of these were purely physical, 
others partook of an economic and political nature. 

Of the purely physical dangers, the most important was 
the actual peril of the voyage. To go from London to 
Dantzig, Riga or Revel with a sailing vessel was no easy 
feat. It meant crossing the stormy North Sea, following a 
tortuous course through the Danish Sound or "Belt" 76 
and after that, if Riga were to be the destination "aboute 
a thousande myles of daungerous saylynge. ' ' 77 Thomas 
North, a mariner, writing to Walsingham in 1582 about 
the specific dangers of passing through the Sound, relates 
" ... the road where the ships lie at anchor is an 
open road with an easterly wind, and with a west or nor' 
west wind, so that by storm from these two parts, many 
ships are cast away, to the great loss and undoing of many 
merchants, and also to the great charge of both merchants 
and mariners . . . " 78 Concerning the voyage in gen- 
eral he declares, " ... the voyage is as perilous into 
the East parts as any that is traded of that distance. No, 
there is none so perilous, but that it is traded in the sum- 
mer time, in fair weather, yet there are more losses on that 
voyage than on any other I know. ' ' 79 

Besides this purely physical danger, the Eastland mer- 
chants had to face a problem which at that time con- 
fronted all traders whose business required the transporta- 
tion of goods over seas. This was the danger from pi- 

76 The voyage could be made in about a fortnight if all conditions 
were favorable. In July of 1573 Dr. Valentine Dale, an English 
representative in France, in reporting an audience which he had 
with Katherine de Medici, relates that she mentioned to him that 
"at Dieppe she did see a ship that had been coming from Dantzig 
but 15 days" . . . C. S. P., For., 1572-1574, p. 393. 

77 Richard Eden, The First Three English Books on America, 
Westminster, 1865, p. 314. 

78 C. S. P., For., 1581-1582, p. 648. 

79 C. S. P., For., 1581-1582, p. 651. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 235 

rates. The English pirates, with which the sea apparently 
abounded at this time, were no respecters of nationality, 
and apparently robbed their countrymen with no more com- 
punction than they felt when preying upon foreigners. 
But they were not the only pirates on the sea. In 1565 
the Queen wrote to Frederick II of Denmark in the interest 
of a certain William Peterson who had been despoiled by 
Danes. 80 In 1570 the "Danske Freebooters" came out 
with a fleet of six vessels to attack the English vessels bound 
for ' ' the Narve. " 81 In that same year a ship called the 
Philip of Sandwich belonging to Philip Lewes was cap- 
tured by pirates 82 and two years later the ship of Thomas 
Boldnes, a London merchant, was also taken. 83 In 1575 
the Christopher and the Flying Hart, two vessels freighted 
at Dantzig with the goods of English merchants were 
chased by pirates but were rescued by the Vice-Admiral of 
Norfolk. 84 In this they were more fortunate than the 
Thomback, a ship freighted by Alderman Thomas Pullison 
and other English merchants at the same port. This ves- 
sel was captured by pirates " under color of Commission 
from the Governour of the Lowe Countrey. ' ' 85 This was 
not an isolated case for "diverse other shippes laden with 
Englishe men's wares from Danske have been taken and 
spoiled under colour of soche Commissions either from the 
Governour or the Prince of Orenge. " 85 In 1592 we hear 
of a Danish pirate, Hennison, who, by the capture of a ship 
and cargo five years before, had caused thirty-two English- 
men to suffer loss. 86 

Closely connected with the danger from pirates came 

so C. S. P., For., 1564-1565, p. 542. 
siHakluyt, III, p. 167. 

82 47th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec., App., p. 45. 

83 47th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec, App., p. 46. 
s* A. P. C, IX, pp. 29-30. 

85 IUd. 

86 A. P. C, XXIII, p. 334; XXIV, p. 90. 



236 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

the friction caused by the Danish-Swedish War, lasting 
from 1563 to 1570, though this should hardly be placed in 
the category of unmitigated calamities. In fact, it need 
not have been a calamity at all, had not the English yielded 
to the tempting offers of the Swedes to supply them with 
provisons for carrying on the war. Hardly had a state 
of hostilities been declared by Denmark before Eric XIV 
of Sweden wrote to the Queen desiring that she allow 
her subjects to furnish him with provisions and other neces- 
saries "which they might bring to the ports of Halland 
or West Gothland. " 87 To comply with such a request 
would have been a breach of the treaty relations which ob- 
tained between England and Denmark. However, the 
English must have either aided the Swedes or there were 
very strong rumors that they were about to do so, for 
Frederick II of Denmark asked her to prohibit her sub- 
jects from carrying provisions into Sweden. The Queen 
seemed not especially zealous in her efforts to prevent 
such a trade so that when she replied to Frederick, she 
promised to take care that the English should not take 
provisions to supply the King of Sweden's army but she 
declared that she could not prohibit them from carrying 
on the ordinary traffic with that country. 88 

The bolder spirits of the time seem to have been quite 
fascinated by the trade and adventures to be had by aiding 
Sweden. Under pretense of a legitimate trade to the East 
Country they carried supplies to that country and even 
occasionally acted as spies. In 1564 Thomas Valentine, 
while carrying letters for the Queen and some merchants 
into Sweden, used the opportunity to ascertain the plans 
of the King of Denmark and to carry them to the enemy. 89 

87 C. S. P., For., 1563, p. 568. 

88 C. S. P., For., 1564-1565, p. 124. 

89 45th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec, App. II, p. 23; C. S. P., For., 
1564-1565, p. 282. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 237 

Denmark soon grew very impatient of these acts of hos- 
tility from the English and took definite steps to stop 
them. In January of 1565 Albert Knopper, the Danish 
ambassador, brought the matter to the Queen's notice. In 
a memorial addressed to her, he pointed out that according 
to the treaty made between King John of Denmark and 
Henry VII the subjects of neither prince should give as- 
sistance to the enemies of the other. He asserted that in 
the preceding summer several English merchants had taken 
warlike stores into Sweden. He then announced that the 
Danish King had chosen as a remedy for this, the closing 
of the Baltic navigation for a season "with which he hopes 
the Queen will not be offended, considering the exigencies 
of war." 90 

This threat aroused the English considerably. They main- 
tained that if the Danes closed the Baltic it would be a 
clear violation of existing treaties. To placate the Dane, 
the Queen promised that she would charge her subjects to 
forbear from the carriage of any victuals or arms "whereby 
there might be any suspicion of their intention to aid 
either the King of Sweden or any other. ' ' 91 She sug- 
gested that instead of closing the Sound, he should exact 
pledges from the merchants that they would not carry pro- 
visions or warlike stores to the King of Sweden. 92 The 
Queen's promise and suggestion were unnecessary owing 
to the fact that Frederick had threatened more than he 
was either able or willing to carry out just at that time. 
Before the Queen's letter could possibly have reached him, 
he wrote that he would open "the navigation of his seas 
to all provided that they do not carry salt, arms or similar 
merchandise to his enemy. ' ' 93 

90 C. S. P., For., 1564-1565, p. 279. 
9i Hid. 

92 C. S. P., For., 1564-1565, p. 284. 

93 C. S. P., For., 1564-1565, p. 547. 



238 TEADE IN THE BALTIC 

In the spring of that same year (1565) Eric of Sweden 
renewed his appeals to the Queen to enjoin her subjects 
to bring provisions and munitions into those parts of Nor- 
way where his army was. He promised that they should 
be well paid for their efforts. 94 There must have been at 
least some response on the part of the English to this in- 
vitation for we find the Danes making a number of seiz- 
ures of English vessels on the ground that they were aiding 
the Swedes. In June, 1566, they captured the ship of 
Gregory Parmort who was carrying corn to the King of 
Sweden. 95 Later in the same year they took the William 
Joanna of Plymouth, a vessel belonging to John and Wil- 
liam Hawkins which they found in Norway. 96 At about 
the same time they seized a ship called the Julianna, the 
property of an Englishman by the name of Clynton. 97 In 
1567 it was asserted by William Peterson, Thomas Ban- 
nister and " other the merchaunts of this . . . Bealme" 
that within the year preceding "Dyvers other of youre 
Ma tes subiects have bene spoyled of their shipps and goods 
and their boddyes putt to Raunsone by the Servytures of 
the sayd kinge of Denmarke." 98 

Notwithstanding the grave risks of seizure by Denmark 
which they incurred, some Englishmen were still attracted 
to this trade. In March of 1568 Frederick wrote to Eliza- 
beth of one of her subjects, taken at Elsburg by the Danes 
and afterward liberated on parole, who had then joined 
the Swedes and who was at that very time in England pre- 
paring vessels for his enemies. He also mentions another 
of her subjects who was engaged in the same kind of 
enterprise. 99 In the following year we hear of the Mathew 

94 C. S. P., For., 1564-1565, p. 395. 

95 C. S. P., For., 1566-1568, p. 80. 

»6 47th Kep. Dep. Keeper of Rec., App., p. 44. 

97 Ibid. 

98 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 44, f. 59. 

99 C. S. P., For., 1566-1568, p. 430. 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 239' 

of Hull, an English ship seized by the Danish fleet at 
Revel. 100 

In 1570 the war came to a close and trade resumed its 
normal course. 

It would appear, then, that the English did suffer losses 
and inconvenience and even came near being cut off en- 
tirely from the Baltic trade through the closing of the 
Sound, all because of the Danish-Swedish War. On the 
other hand, their hardships were, to a large degree, their 
own fault and it becomes a question as to whether, after 
all, their trade was not quickened and animated by the op- 
portunities afforded by the war, more than it was checked 
and retarded by the punitive measures of Denmark. 

But the serious trouble which confronted the English 
merchants in regard to the Baltic traffic was the competi- 
tion of the Hanseatic League. For a long period the 
Hanse merchants had absolutely controlled the commerce 
of the "East Seas." With their staple at London they 
had been able to supply the English with Baltic products 
and in return export the English cloth. The entrance of 
the English into the Baltic trade created competition for 
these merchants and after they had once tasted the sweets 
of monopoly they were loath to give up their advantage. 
Consequently we find them opposing the English in the 
latter part of the fifteenth century and all during the 
sixteenth. Although the Treaty of Utrecht made with the 
towns by Edward IV provided for reciprocal privileges for 
the subjects of the two contracting powers, the competi- 
tion of the English seems not to have become really for- 
midable until the time of Edward VI. As we have already 
seen, the English merchants at that time prepared to enter 
the lists in a way they had never attempted before. But 
when they tried to build up trade to Eastland, they en- 
countered the determined opposition of the Hanse, led 

ioo 47th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec, App., p. 45. 



240 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

by Dantzig. The proclamation of Edward VI against the 
Steelyard sets forth that the treaty of reciprocity, made 
in the time of Edward IV whereby the English should 
have similar liberties in Prussia and other places of the 
Hanse, had been daily broken, especially in Dantzig, by 
the prohibition of Englishmen to buy and sell there and, 
though various requests for redress of such wrongs have 
been made, no reformation had ensued. 101 

After the English government had followed the advice 
of the merchants and had entered upon the policy of sup- 
pressing the Hanse privileges, Dantzig grew more drastic 
in her measures against the English merchants. By 1557 
the situation was such that the English drew up "A Com- 
pendious declaration of such Iniuries, barbarous vsances, 
and vnfrendlie behauio rs , as Hans Brandes BurroWm r and 
other naming them selves lordes of the Towne of Dansicke 
ministred, shewed, and vnnaturallie executed in, to and 
vpon the m r chauntes, Owners, masters, and marin r s of Eng- 
land beinge at Dansick in the monethes of Aprill, Maye, 
June, July and August A 1557. " 102 The English mer- 
chants declared that all of the English ships that had en- 
tered the port at Dantzig during the spring of 1557 were, 
upon their arrival and unloading, "comaunded to stay, 
not to departe at theire own will and libertie (as m r chauntes 
ought to do) w th out expresse and spiall licence craued and 
obteyned of the said Burro wmasters. " There they were 
held until June 19, a delay which caused a loss of £20,000 
[half a million dollars in modern values] to the English 
merchants and mariners. While they were being thus 
stayed, these Englishmen were mistreated in various ways. 

101 Contemporary translations of Edward's decree can be found in 
Lappenberg, Urkundliche Geschichte des Hansischen Stahlhofes zu 
London, Hamburg, 1851, p. 178 and in A. P. C, III, pp. 488-9. 

10 2 Lansdowne 170, f. 214. This declaration was delivered to the 
Privy Council by " Mr. Anthonye! Huse Gouernor of the Marchauntea 
Aduenturers." 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 241 

One of these was the refusal to allow them to purchase 
bread and beer within the town. This prohibition resulted 
in an exorbitant price being asked by persons just outside 
the town as well as a depreciation in the quality of the 
goods. The severity of the town was relaxed only when 
it was learned that the English were planning to go to 
another town where the Duke of Prussia and the munici- 
pal authorities had granted them permission to load what 
they pleased. 103 

When Elizabeth came to the throne the matter was in 
dispute. A few weeks after her accession, Thomas Gresham, 
the foremost financier of the period, pointed out to her 
certain measures necessary to a sound financial policy : she 
should reform the currency, grant as few licenses as she 
could, contract as few debts abroad as possible, keep up 
her credit at home and allow no special privileges to the 
Steelyard. On the question of the Hanse privileges he 
set forth, "the greatt ffreedome off the Stillyarde and 
grantinge of licence ffor the carringe off your woll and 
other comodytes ought off your reallme, which is nowe 
on off the cheffest pointes thatt your majestie hathe to 
forsee in this your comon well; thatt you neavir restore 
the steydes called the Stillyarde againe to ther privelydge, 
which hath bine the cheffest poyntte off the undoinge off 
this your reallme. ' ' 104 Gresham 's final admonition to the 
new sovereign was to " kepp [up] your creditt, and spe- 
cially with your owne merchants, for it is thaye must stand 
by youe att all eventes in your necessity. ' ' 105 

Keeping this advice in mind Elizabeth set out to settle 
the differences between her subjects and the Hanses and 
to do this she arranged a negotiation to be held in London 
in the spring and summer of 1560. A treaty was drawn 

103 Lansdowne 170, ff. 201-203. 
io4Burgon, I, p. 484. 
io5Burgon, I, p. 486. 



242 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

up which granted liberal concessions to the Hansards in 
England but all was made conditional upon the grant of 
equal privileges to the English in the Hanse Towns. 106 
To this the Hanse refused to subscribe 107 and the oppres- 
sion of the English in Dantzig continued. They were 
"driven to show openly their merchandise one day in the 
week, and then to sell to the burgesses of that town 
only. ' ' 108 Furthermore restrictions were placed upon 
them in such a way that one Englishman could not there 
bargain with another Englishman "without imprisonment 
or penalties. ' ' 109 The Merchant Adventurers maintained 
that the English were "used more ungratefully than any 
other nation that repairs thither for merchandise. ' ' 110 

Later in this decade the English were worsted in an at- 
tempt to force Dantzig to award justice to an English 
subject. In 1562 a certain William Marten sent his 
brother to Dantzig to collect a debt for which his father 
had received a judgment twenty-five years before. 111 The 
brother, armed with letters from Elizabeth to the magis- 
trates of Dantzig and to the King of Poland, succeeded 
in having the case reopened. But he got no farther. From 
1562 to 1568 the affair hung fire with many "shiftes and 
delay es. ' ' 112 Then William Marten, losing patience and 
fearing for the life of his brother who, it was later as- 
serted "was stryken by his adersarye in place of Judg- 
ment in the p r sence of the . . . maiestrats and no 
punyshment Done to thoffendo r for the same, ' ' 113 ceased 
trying to obtain justice in Dantzig, recalled his brother 

ice C. S. P., For., 1560-1561, p. 214. 
107 Ehrenberg, p. 58. 

los C. S. P., Dom., Add., 1547-1565, p. 520. 
109 Ibid. 
no Ibid. 

in The whole proceeding of William Marten's father is set forth 
in S. P., Dom., Eliz. 90, f. 21. 
us S. P., Dom., Eliz. 90, f. 24, 
us Ibid, 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 243 

and laid his case before the English authorities. It was 
examined by Dr. Haddon, Judge of the Admiralty, 114 and 
soon the Alderman of the Steelyard was warned that un- 
less justice were forthcoming to Marten within three months 
1 ' her Ma tie coulde not Denye the said Marten suche remedye 
as was Due to hym by lawe. ' ' 115 This warning being ig- 
nored by Dantzig, the queen granted Marten ' * aucthoritie 
to staye and arreste somoche of the goods of the maiestrats 
or inhabitaunces of Danske subiects of the kinge of Pole 
as myght aunswere the said Debte of 1938 H 15 s 5 d sterlinge 
w th all expences and Damages, w th a proviso nevertheles 
that no goods arrested should be soulde or Done awaye 
During the space of six monethes from the arrest. In w ch 
tyme the maiestrats of Danske might compound w th the 
said Marten. And if they Dyd not then he might procead 
to the sayle of suche ship pes as were vnder arreste for 
his satysf accon. ' ' 116 Marten seems to have lost no time 
in putting into operation his letters patent. 

If the English had really expected, by these measures, 
to force Dantzig to alter her course, they were doomed to 
disappointment. As soon as the magistrates heard of the 
steps taken in England, instead of "compounding" with 
Marten, they sent letters to protest to the Queen against 
her grant of arrest, and then to insure their fellow-citizens 
and themselves against possible losses, they seized and held 
all the English ships that came into their harbor. The 
ships proved to be "as well of London, Newcastell [from 
which place there were eight 117 ] and hull as of other 
places." 118 These the Dantzigers held until an answer 
came from the Queen. 

This seizure of the English ships caused such financial 

H4 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 90, f. 24. 

us Ibid. 

us Ibid. 

H7 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 47, f. 26. 

us S. P., Dom., Eliz. 47, f. 63. 



244 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

distress among the Eastland merchants, especially those 
of Newcastle, that Dr. Lewes, to whom the matter was 
referred, advised the Privy Council to induce Marten to 
relent and set at liberty the ships and goods which he had 
staid and further to suspend his commission for a time 
1 ' vntill sum other way may be devised ... to vnder- 
stand his matter rightlye and soe to f ynishe the same. ' ' 119 
But Dr. Lewes also considered it "verye harde for the po r 
man" and recommended that the Council "take order that 
the m r chants shall satisfye hym for his necessarye charges 
Defrayd about obteynynge and executing of the Comis- 
sion w ch may be sum relief to hym and no great burden 
to them beynge so many. ' ' 120 The Council followed Dr. 
Lewes' advice and "stayed execution" of their letters 
patent, while the merchants contributed sixty pounds to 
Marten's relief. 121 In this incident the "Danskers" cer- 
tainly justified their reputation for high-handed conduct 
in dealing with the English. 

But by the end of the sixties the scales commenced to 
tip on the side of the Queen's merchants. The Hanseatic 
League, once so powerful and so autocratic, had begun 
to show unmistakable signs of decay and disintegration. 
It was no longer able to hold its own members to a rigid 
adherence to its principles. And without such integrity 
these German cities could not possibly hope to dictate in 
commercial affairs to the vigorous young national organiza- 
tions for trade which were appearing at this time. In 
1567 occurred the defection of Hamburg from the prin- 
ciples and policy of the League. The Merchant Adven- 
turers, energetic, wealthy and well-organized, were given 
a residence and extensive privileges there. 122 A little over 

us S. P., Dom., Eliz. 47, f. 81. 
120 Ibid. 

i2i S. P., Dom., Eliz. 90, ff. 24-25. 
122 Ehrenberg, p. 312, 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 245 

a decade later the town of Elbing, a near neighbor of 
Dantzig, granted similar rights to the English in Prussia. 
These, with similar lapses on the part of other towns, left 
only time wanting for the complete triumph of the Eng- 
lish and the rout of the Easterlings. By the end of the 
century the English merchants could speak of the Steel- 
yard as the institution "vpon whose ruynes we were 
built. " 123 

The question arises just how great or how important 
was this trade for which the English dared the perils of 
the sea and of pirates and for which the Easterlings waged 
such determined, though unavailing warfare against them. 
We have already seen that in so far as each region needed 
the products of the other, there was the basis for a very 
substantial trade between them. But the point of the 
actual bulk of the trade remains to be considered. Al- 
though it is impossible to obtain exact statistical evi- 
dence, a few figures have come down to us, which throw 
some light on this question. In the spring of 1557 during 
the quarrel between the Hanse Towns and the English, 
Dantzig, as has been seen, adopted the strenuous measure 
of stopping the English vessels as they came to the town. 
In the course of about eight weeks over fifty ships were 
thus held. 124 As has been already pointed out this delay 
meant the loss of £20,000 to the English merchants and 
mariners. 125 It would seem that there was a trade of 
no mean proportion at the very beginning of our period. 
As time went on and the Hanse lost its grip on the situa- 
tion more and more, we find the English trade increasing. 
We have already seen how in 1573 Dantzig was consid- 
ered a rich staple for English cloth. 126 In 1581 it was 
reported by John Rogers, the English agent in Poland, 

123 Sloane, 25, f. 13. 

124 Lansdowne 170, f. 203. 

125 Lansdowne 170, f. 214. 

126 C. S. P., For., 1572-1574, f. 393. 



246 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

that the English merchants took from Elbing to the mar- 
ket at Thorn merchandise amounting in value to £82,380 
[$2,059,500] and that the debts owed at that time by the 
Dantzigers to the English exceeded £65,900 [$1,647,- 
500] . 127 In speaking of the friction between the English 
merchants and the King of Denmark, Thomas North, 
whom we have already quoted, estimated in 1582 that 
"if the King of Denmark pretended a quarrel towards 
our prince or nation, always about midsummer or "Whit- 
suntide he might stay, that pass his Sounds, 50 or 60 
sail of English ships, if he do 'deal upon the vantage'; 
for in the spring of the year, if he will suffer them to 
pass eastwards by 4 sail and 6 sail as they come, before 
those first ships return there may be 60, or 100 past and 
come within his l danger, ' which if he should stay, it would 
be a great foil to our merchants and owners of ships and 
also to a number of poor mariners. ' ' 128 In the same year 
the Queen wrote to the King of Denmark and mentioned 
"our people's trade into the sea of Oresund [the Sound] 
having much increased in quantity and value upon that 
of early times. ' ' 129 

As Elizabeth's reign drew to a close, the Eastland trade, 
although hampered in many ways, assumed such propor- 
tions as to enable the merchants engaged in it to compare 
themselves with the numerous and wealthy Merchant Ad- 
venturers both in the point of numbers and in the amount 
of their shipping. 130 Their ambitious assertion is, in a 
way, substantiated by a report made by the customer 
Plumpton for the month of May, 1596. 131 In this it is 
shown that, while there were 27 ships from the ports of 
Holland, 2 from Hamburg and 2 from Stade, there were 

127 S. P., Poland, I, No. 9. 

128 c. S. P., For., 1581-1582, p. 651. 

129 C. S. P., For., 1581-1582, p. 632. 
isoSloane 25, f. 6 b. 

i3i Lansdowne 81. f. 123. \ 



EASTLAND TRADE, 1550-1603 247 

19 from Dantzig alone. And in 1603 the Venetian Sec- 
retary, Giovanni Carlo Scaramelli, wrote to the Doge and 
Senate that this trade was equal to the English trade of 
the West Indies, Guiana and Brazil and greater than that 
of Venice, Ragusa, Lepanto, Constantinople and Syria. 132 
Just how much this was or how much this Venetian knew 
about it, is impossible to determine, but this does show 
that in Scaramelli 's eyes at least this was a very consid- 
erable trade. 

132 c. S. P., Venetian, 1592-1603, p. 549. 



CHAPTER II 

THE EASTLAND COMPANY 

It is usual to think of the sixteenth and seventeenth 
century commercial companies as organizations the aim 
of which was to open up or develop some new market for 
exports or to venture on some dangerous and distant voy- 
age in search of certain highly prized goods. Such were 
the aims of the founders of the Muscovy Company, the 
Cathay Company, the Levant Company, the Barbary Com- 
pany, the East India Company and a host of others. But 
with the Eastland Company the case was different. It 
is true, the voyage to Eastland was dangerous, but for a 
long time Englishmen had succeeded in trading there 
without the protection of an organization. The line of 
trade in that direction was one of the earliest to be fol- 
lowed by Englishmen. The home government had taken 
an interest in protectng and furthering it. The Baltic 
rulers had not at any time strenuously objected to it and 
in some cases had actually exerted themselves to encour- 
age and favor it. Yet in 1579 we find the Eastland mer- 
chants organizing a company, modeled in some ways after 
that of the Merchant Adventurers. The query arises just 
why should these men, who were getting along fairly well 
as independent traders, form a company to carry on a 
regulated trade. The answer to this question seems to 
lie in the relation existing between these merchants and 
the problem of piracy, with the international complications 
arising therefrom. 

The case that precipitated matters was that of John 
Peterson, a Dane. He had been despoiled of his ship 
and its cargo by certain English pirates, Hicks and Cal- 

248 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 249 

lice, about Easter time in 1577. 1 His grievance was taken 
up by the Danish government and a restitution of the 
spoil was vigorously demanded. 2 When Hicks and Callice 
were captured, Peterson's ship was restored. 3 Since the 
goods had been disposed of, the Privy Council decided 
that for them he "shoulde be recompenced by certen fynes 
to be put uppon suche as shoulde be founde to have ben 
dealers withe pirattes, according to a Comission graunted 
from her Majestie to that pourpose." . . . This re- 
sulted in the payment of £200 of the £1300 claimed by 
Peterson. He was to receive the rest "as it was from 
tyme to tyme to be leavied uppon the offendours. " This, 
apparently was too tardy a form of justice to suit Peter- 
son and so, "on the sodane" he protested and departed 
for Denmark. 4 

This course roused the English to take more effective 
measures for indemnifying the irate Dane. The Council 
feared that Denmark might adopt a policy of reprisals in 
the Sound. Accordingly, "their Lordships foreseing 
what inconvenience might follow thereby to suche her 
Majesties subjectes as ether are there or hereafter shall 
trade into the Est Partes," wrote to the Lord Mayor of 
London on April 3, 1578. 5 In this letter they set forth 
that they "have thought it good to require him to call 
before him all suche of that Cittie as doe trade that way, 
and to perswade them to leavie amongst them selfes, every 
one according to his abillitie, soe muche money as re- 
maynethe to be payed unto the said Peterson, which will 
not be above mc 11 , which shall be payed unto them againe 
as the fynes aforesaid shalbe leavied, which will not be 
long ; not doubting but they will the willinger yeild unto 

i A. P. C, X, p. 57. 

2 Ibid; C. S. P., For., 1577-1578, p. 275. 

s A. P. C, X, pp. 83 and 193. 

4 Ibid. 

5 A. P. C, X, p. 193. 



250 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

[this] considering it is for their owne benefitte and they 
to be noe furder interessed, but only the forbering of their 
money for a tyme, which maye be lesse burden unto 
them. ' ' 6 His Lordship was then instructed to inquire 
"what merchantes of Hull, Ipswich, Harwich and New- 
castell doe trade that way, uppon the receipt of whose 
names from their Lordships the like order shalbe taken 
with them to assiste this contribucion. ' ' 7 The Lord 
Mayor must have followed this instruction, for such a list 
still exists. It gives, along with the names of the mer- 
chants trading to the East Countries, the rate of taxation 
for each. One hundred and forty-one names are in- 
cluded, among whom, judging by the tax rate, Thomas 
Pullison, Robert Hilson, William Cokayne, Hugh Offley, 
Richard Gurney, Edmund Boldero, and Roger Fludd were 
the wealthiest. 8 

By midsummer the idea of using the merchants for 
other purposes than merely to meet the demands of Peter- 
son, had occurred to the Council. These merchants might 
be used to help send representatives to Denmark to nego- 
tiate upon the question of tolls collected at the Sound. 
On July 9, 1578, the Privy Council wrote again to the 
Lord Mayor "to confer with some of his brethern by call- 
ing before them soche marchantes of the Cittie as are 
interessed in the trade towardes Danske, for the leavynge 
of 200 u towardes the charges of soche persons as shall, 
apon motion made to the Quenes Majestie, be sent to the 
Kinge of Denmark, aswell for thexcessive customes de- 
maunded by the saide King as also for the compounding 
of some controversies betwixt the subjectes of bothe 
realmes . . . their Lordships offeringe their assist- 

e A. P. C, X, p. 193. 

7 Ibid. 

«S. P., Dom., Eliz. 127, No. 73. It is impossible to determine 
whether this list contains only London merchants or whether those 
of the provincial towns are included. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 251 

anees to leavie and gather the same in eqnall and indiffer- 
ent manner. ' ' ° 

In the following week "Mr. Alderman Pullison and 
certeine other merchauntes tradinge Dantzig and the East 
Partes" undertook and promised before the Lord Treas- 
urer to pay over to Peterson the sum of £200, "towardes 
the satisfaccion of the losses which he sustained by 
Hickes. ' ' 10 The measures taken by the government had 
so mollified Peterson that he had consented "in case he 
maye presentlie have cc 11 , to tarye some longer time 
for the rest, for the levyinge wherof he is to understand 
that it is ordered by their Lordships that iiij xxli [80] 
or therabout shalbe delivered out of the receipt of her 
Majesties Exchequier by direction of the Lord Threas- 
urer." u On July 16, 1578, the Council wrote to the Lord 
Mayor to call Pullison and the other merchants before 
him "and in their Lordships' name to enjoyne them to 
make provision with speede convenient of the said cc 11 
and xx 11 more, or so much as shall suffise to meete 
thother sum, iij c " and to cause the same [to be] brought 
to the Lord Threasurer who will see it paid over to Peter- 
son." 12 

Evidently Pullison and his companions were averse to 
bearing the whole burden of this charge, for the next day 
they appeared before the Council about the matter and 
as a result, that body once more wrote to the Lord Mayor 
requiring him to "sende for all such merchauntes as he 
shall understande to trade into those partes, and in her 
Majesties name to charge them to paie towardes the said 
summe such severall porcions as everye of them is rated 
at, and to commit suche as shall refuse to prison without 

9 A. P. C, X, p. 266. 
io A. P. C, X, p. 277. 
ii A. P. C, X, p. 277. 
12 Ibid. 



252 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

releasinge them by baile or otherwise without speciall war- 
rant and order therin from their Lordships . . ." 
His Lordship was particularly instructed, however, "to 
signifie unto them that it is meant the said severall por- 
cions shalbe repaid unto them uppon such fines as shalbe 
gathered uppon pirates and their abbettours, wherin 
. . . their Lordships are minded substantiallie to pro- 
ceeds . . ." 13 

Here was a peculiar situation. The inefficiency or in- 
difference of the government in regard to piracy led to 
the endangering of English mercantile interests in the 
Baltic. The government, considering that it was the mer- 
chants who had most to lose in case Denmark undertook 
reprisals, thought it only fair that they should do most 
in preventing such a contingency. When the government 
sought to put its ideas into practice, a further problem 
arose. What would be an equitable distribution of the 
burden among the merchants, since all might share in the 
benefits? The solution that seems to have occurred to the 
merchants was the same as had been adopted for the solu- 
tion of so many other difficulties of the merchants of the 
period, the formation of a chartered company; and so in 
the fall of 1578 we find them demanding joint privileges. 14 

Running parallel with this series of occurrences in Eng- 
land was another which may have had some influence in 
bringing about the formation of the company at this time. 
On the Continent events were so shaping themselves as 
to make it very necessary for the English merchants to 
effect some sort of organization. Since this subject comes 
up for full discussion later it need only be noted here that 
the old enemies of the English merchants, the Dantzigers, 
were doing all in their power to ruin the English trade 
in their city, while the people of a rival town, Elbing, 

13 a. P. C, X, p. 280. 

14 C. S. P. Dom., 1547-1580, p. 602. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 253 

were just as anxious to attract and foster the trade of 
Elizabeth's subjects. Only through organization could 
the opposition of Dantzig be met and the overtures of 
Elbing effectively turned to advantage. 

What would be the attitude of the government toward 
the new project of organization? Apparently the authori- 
ties felt that they had much to gain and nothing to lose. 
In the future when such cases as that of Peterson arose 
and menaced the Baltic trade, here would be an organiza- 
tion which could assume responsibilities. In fact the gov- 
ernment might simply delegate powers to the Company 
"to th 'intent that suche disorders as happened hereto- 
fore in that trade might be avoyded and prevented. ' ' 15 
This organization might be given "libertie for that pur- 
pose to make actes and orders for their better government, 
and authorite to sequester, committ and fine the trans- 
gressours therof . ' ' 16 Furthermore here was another in- 
strument with which to work toward the attainment of 
that most praiseworthy object, the expansion of English 
commerce. Indeed here was an effective and impartial 
"plat for all parties interested." 17 

Some time during the winter and spring of 1578-9 the 
Eastland merchants presented a formal petition to the 
Queen that "by her Highnes' Letters Patentes she would 
vouchsafe to make them a Companie and Fellowshippe 
Incorporate. " 18 In this Alderman Thomas Pullison took 
the lead. The Charter sets forth that "we [the Queen] 
be credyblye informed by the reporte of our trustye sub- 
jecte Thomas Pullyson Alderman of our Citie of Lon- 
don . . . That yowe our Subjectes Marchantes trad- 
inge the Easte partes ... by one assente and con- 
sente are Wyllinge and desirous to gather congregate as- 

15 A. P. C, XII, p. 207. 

is A. P. 0., XII, p. 207. 

it C. S. P., Dom., 1547-1580, p. 602. 

isA. P. C, XI, p. 205. 

1 



254 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

semble and drawe your selves into one fellowshipp and 
comynaltye. ' ' 19 

A delay was now caused by the appearance of new 
complications. When the merchants presented their pe- 
tition to the Queen, they enclosed an abstract of certain 
privileges which they desired. 20 This aroused the opposi- 
tion of the Merchant Adventurers and the Spanish Mer- 
chants, for they considered "divers articles in the said 
abstracte as prejudiciall to their Chartres and Corpora- 
cions. " 21 By August 5, 1579, however, the matter had 
been adjusted and on that day the Attorney General was 
instructed by the Privy Council "to acquainte the said 
Merchantes Adventurers and Spanishe Merchauntes with 
the said abstracte before he drawe upp the booke, that 
their consent be had to the articles which heretofore they 
misliked." 22 

In a few weeks after this (August 27) the charter was 
granted. 23 

It seems evident, then, that the formation of the East- 
land Company was precipitated at least by the necessity 
on the part of the merchants of meeting this shifting by 
the English government of the burden of indemnification 
for piracy; other incentives to its formation are to be 
found in the efforts of the English to make the most of 
the situation in Prussia. 

For the particular form of organization that the East- 
land merchants were now about to assume, they had a 

19 The charter of the Eastland Company is found in the Patent 
Rolls, 21 Eliz., pt. 11 and also in S. P., Dom., Eliz. 131, No. 70. 
Extensive portions of it from the former source are printed in the 
appendix of the volume "The Acts and Ordinances of the Eastland 
Company," in the publications of the Camden Society, Third Series, 
XL The quotation above comes from that volume, p. 142. 

20 A. P. C, XI, p. 205. 

21 Ibid. 

22 A. P. C, XI, p. 205. 

23 C. S. P., Dom., 1547-1580, p. 630, 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 255 

choice between two models. The Company of Merchant 
Adventurers had already shown that Englishmen as well 
as foreigners could unite and by a regulated trade both 
gain concessions abroad and protect themselves from dan- 
gerous competition among their own members. The Mus- 
covy Company had demonstrated how co-operation by 
joint stock could be applied to overcome the obstacles of 
distant trading and the assumption of large risks. Of 
these two the Eastland merchants chose the former. This 
was only natural since the conditions with which they had 
to deal resembled the conditions of Germany far more 
than those of Russia. Reflecting the type of the company, 
the official name of "Governour, assistauntes and Fellow- 
shipp of Marchaunte of Eastland " 24 was selected. 

The charter is addressed to certain classes of adminis- 
trative officials: admirals, castellans, customers, control- 
lers, collectors of subsidies, keepers of havens on the seas, 
justices, escheators, coroners, mayors, sheriffs, " chief e of- 
ficers," bailiffs, constables, and " other our officers myny- 
sters and subjectes." 25 This list probably includes all the 
officials of the government with whom the new company 
was at all likely to come in contact. 

The purpose of the fellowship, as voiced by the charter, 
was the better regulation of the Eastland trade. The 
new Company was for the " honor and service of us and 
our lande inventynge [venting?] our comodytyes to the 
pffytte of us and our lande and cuntrye and sving 
[serving?] — our lande and cuntrye With the moste 
necessarye comodytyes of the said landes Nacyons coun- 
tryes Cittyes and Townes Which thorough many unskyl- 
full and disordered persons is sore altered to the greate 
hinderance of us and our lande and countrye. ' ' 26 The 

24 A. and O., p. 144. 

25 A. and 0., p. 142. 

26 A. and 0., p. 143. 



256 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

relations of the English merchants to Denmark which we 
have seen to be so important in bringing about the forma- 
tion of the company, as well as the relations with the 
Hanse Towns were only hinted at in the preamble of the 
charter where it sets forth that by this instrument the 
merchants were to be drawn into one body corporate and 
politic "in dede and in name aswell for your better gov- 
ernemente Releiff and succours in those partes and re- 
dressinge of suche wronges and injuryes as heretofore hathe 
bene and hereafter myghte be layde unto and upon yowe 
by dyvers and sundrye unlawful! and unreasonable taxes 
exacyons and imposicions and other newe customes in 
those partes contrarye to the entercourse betwene us and 
our noble Progenitors and the princes States and comon- 
altye and their Progenitors Auncestors and Predecessours 
of the said Easte Countryes. ' ' 27 

A point much emphasized in the charter is that of de- 
fining the geographical limits within which the Company 
was to have the monopoly of trade. In certain regions 
of the East Country no Englishmen except members of 
this organization were hereafter to be privileged to buy 
and sell. These places are beyond "the Sounde into the 
. . . Realmes Kyngdomes Domynyons Dukedomes Cou- 
tryes Cittyes and Townes of Norway Swethan Polland 
and Territories of the same Kingdomes of Pole Norway 
and Swethen lettow leefland and Prussen With the Terry- 
tories of the same and also Pomerland from the Ryver of 
Odera Eastward with Rye Revell Kynningburgh, Elbynge 
Brounsburgh Dantzick Copenhawen and Elsenor Finland 
Golland Ewland and Burntholme. ' ' 28 This included al- 
most all the countries and islands touched by the Baltic. 
Furthermore the few places not assigned exclusively to 
the Eastland Merchants were taken care of. Narva, at 

27 A. and 0., p. 144. 

28 A. and O., p. 144. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 257 

this time the one Russian port on the Baltic, already be- 
longed to the Muscovy Company, so that now it was care- 
fully excepted from the places assigned to the Eastland 
Merchants. 29 It would seem that the Eastland Merchants 
at first had asked for a monopoly of all the lands border- 
ing upon the Baltic ; but to this the Merchant Adventurers 
made objection. They resented the assignment to another 
company of any portion of Germany since "all the Terry - 
toris therof hathe ever benn insydente to their trade. ' ' 30 
This was probably one of the points in the dispute which 
caused the delay in the granting of the Charter. A com- 
promise was effected whereby the portions of northern 
Germany west of the Oder, that is Pomerania west of the 
Oder, Mechlenburg and Liibeck along with Denmark out- 
side of Copenhagen and Elsinore, were to be held jointly 
by the Eastland Company and the Merchant Adventur- 
ers. "We . . . doe by these psentes graunte to the 
said Governour assistauntes and Fellowshipp of Mar- 
chauntes adventurears of England . . . and to the 
said Governour assistauntes and Fellowship'p of Mar- 
chauntes of Eastelande . . . That the said severall Fel- 
lowshipps and Companyes shall or maye . . . trade and 
occupye into and with the kyngdomes Countryes Cytyes and 
Townes hereafter expressed that is to saye into and 
Withall Denmarke excepte Copen haven and Elseno Which 
before is appoynted to the said Marchauntes of Eastelande 
and their successours onely and into and With Mackelburgh 
Jutland Sclesia Moravia . Lubeck Wysmore Rostock Sta- 
tine Stralsound and the Whole Ryver of Odera any thinge 
or matter in these psentes conteyned to the contrayre 
notwithstandinge. " 31 

Not only were there provisions as to the exclusive ter- 

29 A. and O., p. 144. 

30 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 126, f. 24. 
si A. and O., pp. 149-150. 



258 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

ritory of the Eastland Merchants but there were also 
clauses prohibiting them from trading in other places. 

"And We Wyll and coniaunde and straightly inhibyte 
our said Marchauntes of Eastelande and evye of them 
that they nor their successours shall not occupy buy or 
sell in any porte place or Towne of the Dukedome of 
Holston the towne of Hamburg or the Ryver of Elve 
or any of them or shall use the same otherwise then for 
the Fre passage of their parsons and goodes "Without 
breakinge any Bulke to thende or intente to make sale of 
any their Marchaundize Which places late recyted. ' ' 32 

When one finds a monopoly such as this one, the vital 
questions for determining its real character are those con- 
cerning the membership. How many members were 
there? W T hat sort of people were they? How was the 
membership recruited? W 7 as the number limited in any 
way? 

In answer to the first of these questions it is found 
that there were sixty-five charter members, sixty-four men 
and one woman. 33 

WTien the merchants had first asked for privileges they 
suggested that the membership be limited to persons who 
had been engaged in the trade for a period of at least 
ten years, that is, since January 1, 1568. But this was 
considered a measure of doubtful propriety, "For that 
there [are] many mere marchants that hathe benne Deal- 
ers in thos pties sence that tyme and nowe are w ch wolde 
& myght think themselves hardly Deelte w th all, to be de- 
barrid or phibetid the same. ' ' 3 * Probably as a result of 
this difference of opinion we find in the charter curiously 
jumbled statements which were perhaps meant to evade 

32 A. and O., p. 150. 

33 In editing the Charter, Miss Sellers has seen fit to omit the 
names of the charter members. This list will be found in the ap- 
pendix to this volume. 

34 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 126, f. 24. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 259 

the issue. In the preamble the merchants are addressed 
as "yowe our Subjectes Marchauntes tradinge the Easte 
partes comonlye called the Dansicke Marchauntes or Mar- 
chauntes tradinge in or thorough the Sounde. ' ' 35 — Fur- 
ther on in the incorporating clause after the enumeration 
of their names they are spoken of as "mere marchaunts 
. . . which have had and lawfully did use or nowe have 
and doe lawfully use the trade of marchaundyze out of 
and from any of our Domynyons through the Sounde into 
[the various places set apart for the Eastland Company] 
. . . by transportinge out of the same or any of them 
any Marchaundyze or Comodytyes . . . into our 
Realme of England or into any other our Domynyons what- 
soever or which have any traffique and did use any trade of 
marchaundyze in the said Realmes Kingdomes Domynyons 
Dukedomes Countryes Cyttyes and Townes aforesaid or 
any of them in and through the Sounde aforesaide before 
the flrste daye of Januarye Which was in the yeare of 
our lord god 1568 & then in the saide yere of our lorde 
god 1568 aforesaid beinge lyvinge and their children and 
also their apprentyces which they then had or sythence 
that tyme have or had and hereafter shall have from 
henceforth, shalbe one fellowshipp and comynaltye 

" 36 

In the list of charter members are the names of some of 
the most prominent merchants of the time. These men were 
distinguished not only in the Eastland trade but in the com- 
merce with other places as well. They were among the peo- 
ple of influence in the municipal affairs of London. At the 

35 A. and O., p. 142. 

36 A. and O., pp. 143-144. In a comparison of the names con- 
tained in the Charter and those in the Lord Mayor's list, it is no- 
ticeable that eleven names appear in the Charter which are not 
contained in the other list. A possible explanation of this lies in 
the fact that one of these men, John Langton, was a resident of 
Poland and so very probably escaped the notice of his Lordship. 



260 TEADE IN THE BALTIC 

head of the list are four London Aldermen, Edward Os- 
borne, Thomas Pullison, George Barnes and George Bond. 
Edward Osborne belonged to the oligarchy that controlled 
the city. He had married the daughter of Sir William Huet 
who had been Lord Mayor in 1559. 37 Thomas Pullison was 
one of the foremost merchants of his time. He traded 
to Spain, to the Netherlands and to the East Country. 38 
Aldermen Barnes and Bond were among the substantial 
business men of London. In 1580 Barnes was one of the 
Governors of the Muscovy Company. 39 Bond belonged 
to a family prominent in business and city affairs. An- 
other man of means in this company was William Bond, 
to whom the government owed at one time over £7000, a 
sum equal to $175,000 at the present time. 40 The one 
woman member, "Margarett Bond, wydowe" was very 
likely a relative of his; her name follows his in the list. 
Other well-to-do members were Christopher Hoddesdon, a 
Muscovy merchant and also one of the leading Merchant 
Adventurers; Thomas Wylford, the President of the Com- 
pany trading Spain ; 41 Thomas Allen, who had been the 
treasurer of the company which financed Frobisher in 
his voyages to the Northwest ; 42 Hugh Offley, a merchant 
of wealth, who was often chosen to act as an arbitrator in 
mercantile cases and who later became an alderman ; 43 
Thomas Russell, at one time "one of the Queen's Majes- 
ties Purvey ours "; 44 Richard Staper, a man of broad in- 
terests who, with Alderman Osborne, had in 1575 sent 
at their own expense, John Wicht and Joseph Clements 

37 Stow, Survey of London, (Kingsford Edition, 1908) I, p. 223. 

38 C. S. P., Dom., 1547-1580, p. 489; C. S. P., Dom., Add., 1566- 
1579, p. 72; A. P. C, VIII, pp. 299-300; X, 107. 

39 C. S. P., Dom., Add., 1580-1625, p. 6. 

40 A. P. O, VIII, pp. 53-60. 

4i C. S. P., Dom., 1547-1580, p. 687. 

42 C. S. P., Dom., 1547-1580, p. 608. 

43 Stow, Survey, I, p. 151. 

44 A. P. C, VII, p. 241. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 261 

"by way of Poland to Constantinople, where the said 
Joseph remained 18 months to procure a safe-conduct 
from the grand Signior for M. William Harborne, then 
factor for Sir Edward Osborne, to have free accesse into 
his Highnes dominions, and obtained the same. ' ' 45 Os- 
borne and Staper were also the patrons of Newberry and 
Fitch in their journey to the Far East. 46 Besides these 
men the membership included William Towerson, often 
chosen by the Privy Council to help in the adjustment of 
difficulties between merchants, both native and foreign ; 47 
John Foxall, at this time a well-known trader to Spain, 
Denmark and the East Country ; 48 Robert Hilson and 
Roger Fludd, both wealthy merchants, holding large in- 
terests in Dantzig ; 49 and the Cokaynes who later became 
so influential in and subscribed so heavily to the East 
India Company. 50 

How was this number to be recruited? Of course, the 
sons and apprentices of these men could get into the Com- 
pany but what were the conditions put upon persons who 
had no such claims for admission. The charter lays down 
the rules for eligibility. Above all they must be 
"mere" merchants. 51 Retailers, artificers, and handicrafts- 
men were absolutely excluded. Besides being ' ' mere ' ' mer- 
chants they had to be Englishmen, "subjects of us our 
heires and successours. ' ' 52 

45 Hakluyt, V, pp. 168-169. 

46Arber, English Garner, Westminster, 1903-1904, III, p. 177; 
Richard Staper was one of the leading merchants in the East 
India Company. C. S. P. Col. East Indies, 1513-1616, pp. 99, 101, 
109, and 116. 

47 A. P. C, VIII, pp. 167 and 287; X, p. 83. 

48 45th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec, App. II, p. 48; C. S. P., For., 
1581-1582, p. 649. 

49 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

so C. S. P., Col., East Indies, 1513-1616, pp. 100, 101, 176, and 
180. 

si A. and O., pp. 143-144. 

52 A. and O., p. 143. 



262 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

After this limitation as to the sort of persons to be 
admitted, comes a provision for the special favor of East- 
land Merchants in certain localities outside of London. 
The charter specifies that the company "shall take and shall 
not refuse to receyve into their fellowshipp all other Mar- 
chauntes . . . inhabytynge Within the townes of Bry- 
stowe, Excest Barstable Lyme Dertmouth Plymmouth 
Bridgewater Beaton and Tottnes Who synce the said firste 
day of Januarye in the yeare of our lorde god 1568 have 
in any one yeare transported any Wares or comodytyes of 
England into the said Easte partes through the sounde 
by Way of Marchaundyze or trade . . . " 53 

The question of entrance fee, or fine, as it was then 
called, was next taken up for discussion. There is no 
mention of any initial fee paid by the charter members 
other than the hint that certain persons are to be ad- 
mitted hereafter "for such duetye as those nomynated in 
this charter are. " 54 It seems fairly certain that the orig- 
inators of this Company had to meet rather heavy ex- 
penses, since beside bearing the burden of indemnifying 
the Danes which Thomas North says was "made at the 
great suit of her [the Queen's] loving subjects," 55 they 
had to secure the charter and perfect the organization. 
It is impossible to determine just how heavy these ex- 
penses were or how they were apportioned to the mem- 
bers. But in the case of the merchants to be taken in 
hereafter, the charter was quite explicit. The Eastland 
Merchants of the coast towns enumerated above were to 
be admitted upon the payment of £6 13s. 4d. "of good 
and lawf ull money of England. " 56 " All other Mar- 
chaunts Whatsoever," that is, merchants who had not 
traded to Eastland since 1568, whether they were of 

ss A. and 0., p. 147. 
s* Ibid. 

55 C. S. P., For., 1581-1582, p. 650. 

56 A. and O., p. 147. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 263 

London or the coast towns, had to pay £20. 57 In both 
of these cases the children born since 1568 and the ap- 
prentices bound since that date were to be admitted on 
payment of a sum equal to that paid by the charter mem- 
bers. 

There must have been considerable confusion in the 
minds of the framers of this charter as to the relation of 
this to other companies, if one can judge by the pro- 
visions found in the charter itself. We have already 
noted that before the granting of the charter there was 
some opposition on the part of the Merchant Adventurers 
and the Spanish merchants to the abstract of privileges 
presented by the Eastland Merchants and it is possible 
that this confusion in the charter is another result of an 
attempt to adjust difficulties. But whatever the cause of 
this obscurity, the charter first provided that this Com- 
pany was to admit no merchants free of any other trading 
company. "And further we will and neverthelesse doe 
straightly comaunde the said Governour assistaunts and 
Fellowshipp of Marchauntes of Eastelande aforesaide and 
their successours That they and their successours doe not 
in any wyse admytt into their Fellowship^) any mar- 
chaunte free of any other companye or societie tradinge mar- 
chaundyze beyonde the Seas . . . " 58 After this very 
definite prohibition came the exceptions which rob it of all 
significance. It was provided that " notwithstandinge any 
former excepcyon yet nevthelesse any other Marchauntes 
. . . beinge subjectes of us our heires or suc- 
cessours beinge of any other Fellowshipp or Marchauntes 
tradinge into any forreyne partes shall also be receyved 
and admytted into the said Fellowshipp of marchauntes 
of Easteland" 59 upon any one of three conditions: (1) 

57 A. and O., p. 147. 

58 A. and 0., p. 146. 

59 A. and O., p. 147-8. 



264 TEADE IN THE BALTIC 

that they pay "in the name of a Fyne" such a sum of 
money to the use of the "said Fellowship of Marchauntes 
of Easteland as the Fellowshipp and companye Whereof 
they then be are used to take of any other psone or 
psons not beinge of their Fellowshipp for admyssion 
into their Company and Fellowshipp by redempcyon"; 60 
(2) that they relinquish their membership in other com- 
panies; 61 since "Dyvers occacons may happen to Dryve 
[a] marchante From the vsuall trade w° h he exersysethe 
in the fellowship wherof he is one ; 62 ( 3 ) that they pro- 
cure the free admission of a member of the Eastland Com- 
pany into the other company. In this last case no fine 
was to be paid by the merchant for entrance into the 
Eastland Company. 63 The "mere" Merchant Adventur- 
ers and the " mere Marchauntes tradinge Spayne and 
Portingale" who had traded through the Sound into East- 
land since 1568 were to be admitted on the payment of 
ten pounds. 64 This special concession was to be valid 
only one year after the granting of the charter. If there 
were any Merchant Adventurers and Spanish Merchants 
who had not traded to the East Parts but who were de- 
sirous of taking up that trade and entering the fellowship, 
they were to be received on the payment of forty marks. 
This concession was to be " Wythout lymytacyon of 
tyme. ' ' 65 In the first of these classes, the sons born after 
1568 and the apprentices bound after 1568 were to be 
admitted on a fine equal to that paid by sons of charter 
members. 66 In the case of the second class only sons born 
or apprentices bound after their father's or master's en- 

eo A. and 0., p. 148. 

ei Ibid. 

62 S. p., Dom., Eliz. 126, f. 24. 

es A. and 0., p. 148. 

64 IUd. 

65 A. and 0., p. 149. 
ee A. and 0., p. 148. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 265 

trance into the fellowship were to enjoy similar privi- 
leges. 67 

Beside providing for the territorial monopoly and the 
membership of this Company, the charter takes up the 
question of internal organization. It provides for a body 
of officials the most important of which were a governor, 
a deputy governor and twenty-four assistants. In one 
place the charter reads as if there was a possibility of more 
than one governor; it speaks of the "rule and governe- 
mente of the said Governour or Governours his or their 
deputye or deputy es and the said assistauntes or the greater 
parte of them then psente. ' ' 68 Since there is no men- 
tion anywhere else of a dual or plural governorship, one 
concludes that this provision was worded in that way to 
take care of a contingency that never arose. Alderman 
Pullison was nominated the first governor 69 and Thomas 
Russell his deputy. The first group of assistants were 
also named in the charter. 

The offices of governor and his deputy were to be filled 
by annual elections. The charter goes into this matter 
in great detail, describing both the manner of the regular 
elections and the procedure in case of vacancies occurring 
during the year of office. The twenty-four assistants 
were to remain in office "for one whole yeare And further 
soe longe as they shall behave themselves well in the said 
office at the good discrecyon of the said Governor or his 
Deputye and the most part of the said Assistants. ' ' 70 
Any member of the fellowship was eligible for the office 
of assistant. 71 

The Company was given many powers. Among the 

67 A. and O., p. 149. 
es A. and O., p. 146. 

69 This choice was perhaps the result of the prominent part which 
Pullison took in raising the funds to pay Peterson, the Dane. 
70S. P., Dom., Eliz. 131, No. 70. 
7i Ibid. 



266 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

minor ones were the powers to purchase, possess and dis- 
pose of lands not exceeding one hundred pounds annu- 
ally, to sue and be sued in the corporate name, and to 
have a common seal. 72 The large power, however, was 
that of governing absolutely the Eastland trade. For 
this the provisions in the Charter are very general: "That 
the said Governour or his deputye or deputyes and assist- 
auntes aforesaid and their successours for the tyme beinge 
or the greater parte of them then being psente and as- 
sembled together . . . for ever may and shall make 
ordeyne and stablishe suche good statutes lawes and con- 
stitucyons and ordinaunces for the good government and 
rule of the said fellowshipp as they shall thinke mete and 
convenyente So as the said lawes ordynnces and con- 
stytucyons be not repugnante or derogatorie to the lawes 
and statutes of this Realme of Englande or contrarye to 
any treatye league or covenntes betwene us our heires 
and successours and eny other Prynce or Potentate. ' ' 73 
Further these "statutes lawes and constitueyons " could 
be repealed whenever it should be deemed expedient to do 
so by the authorities of the company. 74 

By way of machinery to put this in force the Company 
was given the privilege of holding courts, that is, the privi- 
lege of having meetings for the above-mentioned legisla- 
tion and the transaction of the common business. The 
charter empowered them "to assemble assigne appoynte 
and mete together and cause to be kepte courtes and con- 
gregations of all the said Fellowshipp of Marchauntes of 
Easteland." 75 

There can be little doubt but that the Eastland Mer- 
chants were anxious to follow the model of the Merchant 
Adventurers more closely than has hitherto been suspected. 

72 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 131, No. 70. 

73 A. and 0., p. 145. 
t* Ibid. 

75 A. and 0., p. 144. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 267 

It has been pointed out that the main difference in the 
organization of these two companies lies in the location 
of the seat of government, the Merchant Adventurers hav- 
ing their governing body on the Continent, while the East- 
land Merchants kept their base in London. But this de- 
viation on the part of the latter was one forced upon them 
by circumstances rather than as a policy consciously and 
independently adopted. Apparently when the question of 
organization was first broached, it was expected to have 
the governing body in the East Parts, but it was soon 
seen that this would entail inconveniences upon the East- 
land Merchants from which the more adjacent field of 
activity of the Merchant Adventurers delivered them. 
Thus to "pvente that the said companye of theste 
m r chants shall not inJoine such as wilbe free of their So- 
syetye to Lose any tyme in travell abought the same over 
the Seaes, yt may be pvyded for that all suche psonnes 
as requyrithe the freedome of the sayd sosyetye may be 
admitted into the same here in Inglande. " 76 To meet 
this situation the charter provided that there might be 
assemblies and courts both in England and in the East 
Parts, 77 provided that there were at least twenty mem- 
bers present, thirteen of whom had to be assistants. 78 
Both in England and in the East Parts courts could be 
held as often as it seemed necessary to the "Governour or 
his Deputy e or Deputy es for the tyme beinge or any of 
them for the proffytt or coniodytye of the said Fellow- 
ship^) of Marchauntes of Eastelande aforesaid. ' ' 79 

There was also provision for a permanent local court 
on the Continent, but since there could be but one real 
head, this one was made subsidiary to the Court in Eng- 
land. The charter sets forth that the governing body 

76 S. P., Dom., Eliz. 126, f. 24. 

77 A. and O., p. 145. 

78 Hid. 

79 lUd. 



268 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

"may and shall name chuse and appoint at theire will & 
pleasure From tyme to tyme one or mo of the said Fel- 
lowshipp to be theire Governor or governors in the pts 
beyond the See The w ch Governor or Governors deputie or 
deputies so named and chosen and euery of them shall 
liaue full power and auctoritie to elect and chuse to hym 
or them Twelve of the discretest merchaunts there resi- 
dent of the said Fellowshipp to associate the said Gov- 
ernor or Governors deputie or deputies in that place where 
the said governor or governors deputie or deputies in the 
said parts beyond the Sees shalbe resident. . . . " 80 
These officials so appointed were to rule and govern in the 
East Parts within "such bounds and Lymitts as to them 
by the said Governor and Assistants of the said Fellow- 
shipp resident in England . . . shalbe proscribed and 
assigned. " 81 In practice it worked out that, instead of an 
official called governor, there was a deputy in the East 
Parts. The first person chosen to fill this position was a 
resident of Elbing ' ' and maryed in the Towne. ' ' 82 Later 
a certain William Barker filled the post. 83 

Even after the granting of the Charter we find the tend- 
ency still present to give much power to the court on the 
Continent. During the long negotiation between the Com- 
pany and the town of Elbing and the King of Poland, the 
deputy and his court at Elbing had great influence in 
steering the course of those negotiations. 84 Later in the 
century it showed great activity in the exercise of the ju- 
dicial function. During a period of about sixty weeks 
from October 31, 1600, to December, 1601, there were held 
at Elbing thirty "seuerall courtes of Assistantes, " an av- 

so S. P., Dom., Eliz. 131, No. 70. 
si Ibid. 

82 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 
ss Cottonian, Nero B. II, f. 202 b. 

84 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsingham, 
August 5-15, 1584; Cottonian, Vespasian F. XII, f. 145. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 269 

erage of one a fortnight, and during the same period there 
were twenty-five "seuerall Courtes and assemblies of Com- 
itties" of the "most Auncient and discreet brethren of 
o r Comp : there residinge. ' ' At these meetings important 
cases came up for settlement ; allegations, proofs, accounts, 
depositions, protests, and exceptions were produced and 
heard, evidence was weighed and decisions were reached 
by a majority vote of those present. 85 

It is obvious that if this organization was to be really 
effective in the government of the Eastland trade, its pow- 
ers must go beyond its own membership and outside the 
realm of England. Accordingly we find the charter be- 
stowing upon it the authority to execute its laws upon 
members and outsiders alike, both in England and the 
East countries. "Wherefore we for us our heires and 
successours doe straightlye charge and comaunde aswell all 
and singuler marchauntes of the said Fellowshipp and 
evye of them as also all other psons which be not nowe 
of the said Fellowshipp nor hereafter shalbe and usinge 
or tradinge the partes of Easteland aforesaid . . . 

85 Lansdowne 160,, f. 179. In connection with the question of meet- 
ings comes the point of meeting places. In Elbing the ^Company- 
owned buildings which were erected on land given them by the 
town. (Cottonian Galla D XIII, f. 42 b.) These are still standing. 
But in regard to the meeting place of the Society in London, the 
records have so far failed to yield information. A clue, perhaps, is 
given in E. G. L., Repertory 23, f. 573: "yt is ordred yt [a committee 
of aldermen] shall this afternoone treate wth the deputye and As- 
sistants of the Companye of mrchaunts trading wth the Easte Con- 
treyes at the founders hall for provisyon of corne and grayne to be 
brought to this citty from ye parts beyonde the Seas." It is possible 
that Founder's Hall was the regular meeting place of the Company. 
There would be nothing strange about it if they had met there since 
Stow tells us (I, p. 283) it was "a proper House" in Coleman street 
ward near Basinghall street, in the neighborhood of "fayre and 
large houses for marchauntes." This was within a stone's throw 
of the Guildhall. On the other hand it is quite as possible that this 
conference of the Company with the Aldermen may have been es- 
pecially arranged to meet at Founder's Hall. 



270 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

that they and evye of them be obediente unto all the said 
statutes lawes and ordynnces and that they and evye 
of them be and contynewe under the rule and governe- 
mente of the said Governour or Governours his or their 
deputye or deputyes and the said assistauntes or the greater 
parte of them then psente and to them shalbe obedyente 
in the execucyon of the said statutes actes and ordynnces 
and evye of them as is aforesaid to be made. ' ' 86 

A power bestowed exclusively upon the governing body 
is that of taxation. It is provided that " the said Gover- 
nour or his deputye . . . and assistauntes shall have 
full and whole power and auctoritie to ympose and taxe all 
reasonable imposycyons and somes of money Whatsoever e 
aswell upon the parsons tradinge into the said Countryes 
of Eastelande as also upon the marchaundyze to be trans- 
ported and carryed into the said Countryes of Eastland 
and Polland and other the domynyons afforesaid . . . 
eyther by water or lande or to be broughte by any our 
sujectes from thence suche taxe imposicions and somes of 
money boothe on the goodes and vessells Wherein such 
goodes are transported as to them shall seme necessarye 
and convenyente for the supportacyon mayntenaunce and 
good governemente of the said fellowship^ and to be ym- 
ployed onely for the benyfytt and comodytye of the same 
companye and not otherwyse" 87 . . . 

To make this control of the Company over the Eastland 
trade still more real, the organization was given not only 
the right to pass acts and ordinances but the "authorite 
to sequester, committ and fine the transgressours 
thereof"; 88 and in September of 1580 it was decided by 
the Privy Council that there should be no appeal to the 
higher English Courts from the decisions of the Court of 

se A. and O., p. 146. 

87 IUd. 

88 A. P. C, XII, p. 207. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 271 

the Company. 89 As we have already seen the Court at 
Elbing was active in the judicial side of the Government 
of the Company. 

Besides these large semi-political powers the government 
gave the Company certain smaller concessions. The mem- 
bers as a whole had the right to export yearly two hun- 
dred white cloths, though at this time it was lawful to 
export only colored cloths. 90 It was said later that this 
exception was to provide for the demand of white cloths 
as ''weeds" for men of religious societies in the East 
Parts. 91 These cloths, however, had to be dressed accord- 
ing to the laws of the realm. 90 Furthermore the individ- 
ual merchants were permitted "to carrye and take With 
theym in their purses the some of tenne poundes of cur- 
raunt money of Englande Without any forfeyture or pen- 
altie whatsoev. ' ' 92 

Such, then, were the monopoly, organization and privi- 
leges of the Eastland Company. Its territory was exten- 
sive, its organization definite and its privileges large. But 
after all, the importance of these concessions to any one 
member depended upon the number of persons who should 
be allowed to enjoy them. As we have seen the charter 
provided that practically all merchants except artificers, 
handicraftsmen and retailers, who paid the appropriate 
entrance fee were eligible for membership and the com- 
pany had to admit them. 

During the first year of the Company's existence, it 

made a determined effort to exclude at least some persons 

through a peculiar interpretation of the Charter. It was 

held that a person who was both a Merchant Adventurer 

and a "merchant trading Spain" should not be considered 

a " mere Merchaunte of either of the said Societies, and 

89 A. P. C., XII, p. 207. 
eo A. and O., p. 149. 
siSloane 25, f. 5. 
»2 A. and 0., p. 151. 



272 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

so by the wordes of theire corporacion not to be admitted, 
which onlie pretendeth for suche her Majesties subjectes 
as be mere Merchauntes Adventurers of Englande and 
mere marchauntes trading Spaigne and Portingall. ' ' 93 
The question came up before the Privy Council, where, 
after consultation with the Master of the Rolls, the Attor- 
ney-General and the two Chief Justices, 94 it was decided 
that the narrow definition of a " mere marchaunt ' ' put for- 
ward by the Company ''was rather a cavell in effectt then 
of moment to debarre anie merchant of the said Compa- 
nies of Marchauntes Adventurers and Merchauntes trad- 
ing Spaigne and Portingall from being admitted into 
theire said Companie. ' ' 95 Naturally the Eastland Mer- 
chants had to withdraw their objections to the entrance 
of that class of candidates. 96 The Council further com- 
manded the Company to extend the period three months 
for these persons to come in upon the special entrance fee 
of ten pounds, since the year allowed in the charter had 
almost elapsed. 97 Now the Eastland Merchants proved 
quite submissive and only meekly suggested to the Coun- 
cil that, since these persons were to be admitted to the 
benefits, it would be only fair if they were made to help 
bear the initial expenses of organizing the Company. The 
Council promised to look into the matter, 98 but whether 
it ever did so or not, we have no means of knowing. 

In general, the Eastland Merchants considered that their 
Company was very easy of access. In 1602 they main- 
tained that "any mchantt for a small some of money may 
be free w th vs (yf other of their trade decay) by a 
proviso in her ma ties charter. ' ' 99 And, indeed, there 

93 A. P. C., XII, p. 146. 

94 Ibid. 

95 A. P. C, XII, p. 110. 

96 A. P. C, XII, p. 111. 

97 A. P. C, XII, p. 149. 

98 nid. 

99 Sloane 25, f. 6 b. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 273 

was probably much truth in their assertion. In spite of 
their trading place being somewhat distant and in spite 
of the fact that they labored under many disadvantages, 
by the end of the sixteenth century they could claim al- 
most as many members as the Merchant Adventurers. 
Said they, "as the said advenn r be many in nomber so 
be we also, ' ' 10 ° and as for the question of navigation "we 
think they will confesse that before this decay of our 
trade," by which the annual export of cloths had de- 
creased 6000, "we haue mainteyned many more shipping 
then thejr euer did, and yett doe as many or rather more 
than thadven r now doe. ' ' 101 

It seems perfectly evident that an organization as pow- 
erful as this one and one that arose as it did out of an 
international problem, should bear a close relation to the 
English government. Some phases of this relationship 
come out in connection with piracy, others in connection 
with interlopers and still others in connection with the dip- 
lomatic activities of the time. J 

In view of the circumstances which led to the forma- V 
tion of the Company, it is interesting to find out how far 
the English government was able to put onto the shoul- 
ders of the merchants the solution of the problem of 
piracy and its complications in Denmark. In the first 
place the government lost no time in using the Company. 
Hardly had the charter been granted before the Council 
levied a collection upon them "for the answering of one 
of the King of Denmarkes subjectes." 102 The Company 
rose to the occasion and paid £505 7s. lOd. to the victims 
of Hicks and Callice. 103 By November 18, 1579, it was 
able to secure " A generall acquittance made by Thomas 

ioo Sloane, f. 6 b. Wheeler estimates that at this time there were 
3500 Merchant Adventurers. Wheeler, p. 57. 
ioi Sloane 25, f. 6 b. 

102 A. Y. C., XI, p. 247. 

103 A. P. C, XI, p. 301. 



274 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

Tynnacre, attorney for certen subjectes of the King of 
Denmarke in a cause of depredacion, and delivered unto 
the merchauntes of London trading to the Easte Partes, 
testifieng a full satisfaction and discharge of all suche 
losses as the subjectes of the said King in this case had 
sustayned. ' ' 10 * 

In 1586 occurred a peculiar case of piracy and indemni- 
fication. Martin Snering, a Dane, suffered the loss of his 
ship, " laden cheiflie with corne and other merchaun- 
dyzes," at the hands of the pirate, Diggory Piper. 105 
The Privy Council ordered that the losses be appraised 
by John Foxall and William Watson, two members of the 
Eastland Company, and Herman Langerman and Yohanne 
Wonock, two " merchant strangers." This commission 
appraised the grain on the basis of the current price which 
at this time was very high in England, "and not as yt 
was worthe at the tyme of the spoile comytted. ' ' 106 This 
made the indemnification for the merchandise amount "to 
a double value over then they were worth to have byn 
sold where the same were taken. ' ' 107 The English must- 
have refused or delayed paying this inflated indemnity 
and matters took their usual course. Goods of the Eng- 
lish merchants were "stayed in Denmark to the value of 
the praysement, ' ' 108 This was a serious matter and the 
Council again intervened. January 2, 1587, a letter was 
sent to the Judge of the Admiralty instructing him to call 
the appraisers and the Governor of the Eastland Com- 
pany before him, "dulie to consyder the qualities of those 
merchandize, and uppon their othe to value the same with 
all indyfferencie, that our merchantes maye not be 
charged to make restitucion of a greater somme then the 

104 A. P. C., XI, p. 300. 

105 a. P. a, XIV, p. 271. 

106 IUd. 

107 IUd. 

108 Ibid. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 275 

goodes spoiled did amount unto. ' ' 109 No evidence is 
available as to the outcome of this new investigation by 
the Judge of the Admiralty Court with the aid of the 
Governor of the Eastland Company. However, this frag- 
ment of the story shows how close were the relations be- 
tween the government and the Company in regard to this 
matter of piracy. Besides taking it quite for granted that 
the merchants will pay the indemnity once it is properly 
adjusted as to the amount, the government used first the 
members of the Company and then the Governor of it as 
experts, as doubtless they were, in the settlement of the 
case. 

So far we have seen only one side of the question. All 
we have seen so far has been the government forcing the 
merchants to meet the demand of the injured Danes. It 
remains to be shown how the government aided the mer- 
chants to recoup themselves for at least some of these 
losses. This can best be illustrated by another case aris- 
ing out of the depredations of the above-mentioned Dig- 
gory Piper. In 1588, after a period of piratical activity 
on the part of that energetic corsair, the goods of the Eng- 
lish merchants were again stopped in the Sound. The 
Eastland merchants paid the sums demanded for the re- 
demption of their goods. Then they set out to procure 
some indemnification for their losses. They did not spare 
expense "as well ... in the Admyraltie Court or 
in Denmarke." They found out that Piper had been 
' ' sett to the seas in warlyke sorte ' ' 110 by a certain Josias 
Calmady, gentleman. They then petitioned the Privy 
Council to see to it that Calmady and "soche others as 
had bought the goodes taken by pyracie ' ' U1 should be 
"compelled accordinge to equitie and reason to aunswer 



A. P. C, XIV, p. 271. 
" W A. P. C, XVI, p. 12. 
in A. P. C, XVI, p. 12. 



109 
110 



276 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

those sommes of monney for which their goodes were 
staied and arrested. ' ' 112 The Council acted upon this pe- 
tition and demanded a forfeiture of the bond which Cal- 
mady made for Piper's good behavior when he set out to 
sea. When confronted with this demand, Calmady "dyd 
alleadge the smalnes of his livinge to be unhable to aun- 
swer that somme which he stoode bound in for the good 
behavyour of the shipp wherein Piper went to seas. ' ' 113 
But the Eastland merchants were not to be balked in their 
efforts by such a pretext. They offered "to receave all 
his livinge into their handes, as well landes as leases and 
all other proffyttes, to make that [what?] proffyt of the 
same they should be hable for the space of twelve yeres, 
and to yeeld him yerely towardes his maintenance in the 
meane season the somme of two hundredth poundes" (equal 
in modern values to $5,000 ). 114 The Council evidently 
sympathized with the merchants, though they did not 
wish to be too severe with Calmady, so they gave him his 
choice between the plan suggested by the merchants "or 
els that he shall give good assureaunce unto the said mer- 
chauntes to paie them yerely for the space of tenn yeres 
next ensuinge . . . towardes their repayment for soche 
sommes of money as they have dysboursed for the satys- 
fyinge of the Daanes on whome the pyracie was commyt- 
ted." Calmady decided that it would be to his interest 
to keep his business affairs in his own hands, so he ac- 
cepted the second alternative. He seems to have failed 
to satisfy the merchants, however, for in June of 1592 
he was summoned before the Council on this same charge. 
He was forthwith to "answeare the objections made 
against him by Mr. Russell in the behalf of the merchantes 
trading within the Sound before the Judge of the Ad- 

112 A. P. C, XVI, p. 12. 
H3 Ibid. 
H4 Ibid. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 277 

miralty" and was "enjoyned not to depart hence untill 
he" had "put in good security to be forthcomming at 
all times to answeare the premisses there according to 
cours of law. ' ' 115 

Not only did the government try to get indemnity for 
money paid out by these merchants in this cause, as in 
the Calmady case, but it tried to avoid their having to 
pay it out in the first place. In cases where blame could 
be attached to well-to-do persons and they could be made 
to pay, the Council did not hesitate to make them do so. 
This is illustrated by the case of John Killegrew, ' ' esquier, 
Captaine of the Castle of Pendenyce. ' ' 116 This gentle- 
man seems to have become implicated in much the same 
way as Calmady. He was asked by the Council to an- 
swer to the amount of £440. He promised to pay it in 
February of 1588. When that time came he alleged that 
he had "taken order with a certaine merchaunt of South- 
ampton to dyschardg the said somme." Now it was 
known that this merchant could not meet the obligation 
and therefore the Council concluded that the "said John 
Killygrewe dothe but seeke delaies." The situation was 
crucial with the Eastland Merchants. Spring was ap- 
proaching, they would soon be ready to send out their 
ships but they dared not "use their accustomed trafficke 
for feare of arrestes" that were threatened "to be made 
of their goodes by the Kinge of Denmarke for the indem- 
nytie of his subjectes." 117 This led the Council to take 
drastic measures. On April 10, 1588, a warrant was dis- 
patched to the Sheriff of Cornwall "to apprehend the 
said Killygrewe, and to see him sent upp hether before 
their Lordships to answer his breache of promyse and con- 
tempt in not repairynge hether, beinge sent for by their 



A. P. C. XXII, p. 538. 
"o A. P. C, XVI, p. 13. 
H7 A. P. C, XVI, p. 14. 



115 
116 



278 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

Lordships' commaundement, as also to take order to make 
present paiment of the said somme of monney. ' ' 118 

Sometimes the Council called upon the company merely 
to loan money to persons who were held to pay indemnity 
to the Danes but who were unable to meet their obligations 
at a certain time. Such was the Seymour case which arose 
in 158>9. Edward Seymour was held to pay £350 to Gas- 
per Primer, a subject of the King of Denmark. He paid 
£198 but seems to have been unable to raise the remaining 
£152 by the appointed time. This being the case, the 
Council wrote to the Eastland Company requiring them 
to advance that amount as a loan to Seymour. In the let- 
ter to the company, it was very carefully set forth that 
Seymour promised "to aunswer such reasonnable interest 
for the loane thereof as should be demaunded for the 
same " ; 119 and their Lordships promised that they ' ' would 
at all times afford them their best furthraunce and fauvour 
in compelling him to observe such condicions as he off red 
to be bound unto." But however careful the government 
might be to see that justice was done in these matters, still 
the merchants were considerably burdened. In August, 
1602, they complained that "many thousands of pounds 
haue bin taken from vs, without anie redresse" to make 
good the losses suffered by the Danes on account of the 
English pirates. 120 

In general it can be said that the Eastland Company 
did not relieve the government of responsibility in meet- 
ing the problem of indemnification for piracy. The Privy 
Council, the Admiralty Court, and the Court of Requests 
were the foremost agencies in adjusting the disputes that 
came up in consequence of the depredations of English 
pirates upon the Danes. In critical times, however, the 



us A. P. C, XVI, p. 14. 
us A. P. O, XVIII, p. 44. 
120 Cottonian, Nero B V, f . 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 279 

company was used to relieve the situation, through its 
furnishing money or advancing it temporarily to meet 
these demands. 

Besides the drain on the Company to pay the Danes, it J 
was occasionally taxed by the penurious government off 
Elizabeth for other things of consequence to its trade. 
For instance in 1601 we hear of its being assessed five 
marks to pay to the ' ' Clarke of the Crowne in the Chaun- 
cerye the Purseuance and oth r offic es for sondry pclay- 
macons and writts to be directed to the Maio r Sheriffs and 
Bayleffs of the severall counties & corporacons w th in the 
Countyes of Norff Suff and Essex towching the true and 
lawf nil making of divers sorts of clothes. ' ' 121 

It will be remembered that the Eastland Company was 
given complete control over the Baltic trade in so far as 
Englishmen were concerned in it. But in the beginning 
it was necessary for the government to aid the Company 
in establishing its monopoly. After the organization had 
been in existence some months and had chosen Elbing in 
Poland as its "Mart-town," the Council sent letters to 
the customers and officers of the ports of London, Hull, 
Newcastle, Ipswich and Lynn instructing them to see to it 
"that no shipp doe passe owt of thoase portes under their 
offices towardes Eastland, unlesse they first take bandes of 
them in good sommes according to the valew of their mer- 
chandize, to her Majesties use, that they shall discharge 
their marchandizes only at Elbing. ' ' 122 This step seems 
at first not to have been completely effective in preventing 
"unorderly trading" and the company was forced to ap- 
peal to the crown. October 2, 1580, the Queen ordered 
that the clause in the charter denying appeal from the de- 
cisions of the Company to other courts, should be rigidly 
enforced and she forbade the Lord Chief Justice and the 

i2i R. G. L., Repertory 25, f. 207 b. 
122 A. P. C, XI, p. 378. 



280 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

rest of the Justices "of her Majesties Benche" to take 
cognizance of any such cases. 123 

The problem of the interloper seems to have confronted 
the Company more or less frequently. In 1591 it was re- 
ported to the Council that there were "divers froward 
persons in sondrie partes of this realme which doe refuse 
to conforme their selves to such governement and order as 
hath ben established by the said Governour, Assistantes 
and Fellowship bye vertue of her Majesty's charter." On 
December 29th of that year the Council instructed one of 
the messengers of her Majesty's Chamber "to repaier to 
all such places as the said Governour or Deputie and As- 
sistance of the Companie shall from tyme to tyme by writ- 
ing under their common seale signifie unto him, and that 
he shall will and comande all such persons so offending 
to make their undelaied repaires with him to London by 
such tyme as shalbe limitted by the Governour or Deputie 
and Assistantes and Fellowshipp, to answere to such matter 
as they shalbe charged withall. ' ' 124 In 1597 the Company 
made similar complaints and the Council took the same 
measures to guarantee the monopoly. 125 

It was not only at home that the Company needed the 
assistance of the government if it were to maintain a suc- 
cessful trade to the Baltic. There was another and more 
important element in the situation. This was the attitude 
of the government and municipalities in the East Coun- 
tries. Should these decide to follow the policy of Spain 
in the Netherlands, the Eastland Company would fare no 
better than the Merchant Adventurers in Antwerp. In 
order to prevent such a misfortune, the Company did not 
depend merely upon the local desire for trade nor upon 
its own efforts to secure its position abroad. It sought to 



123 A. P. C, XII, p. 207. 

12* A. P. C, XXII, p. 132-133. 

125 A. P. C, XXVII, p. 331. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 281 

make its interests, national interests, as in a measure they 
were, and to use the prestige and power of the English 
government to aid it in gaining a foothold in the East 
Country, in trying to curb the Danes in their policy of 
exaction at the Sound and in securing redress for the 
wrongs committed against its merchants. 

The government, on the other hand, seems to have been 
quite ready and willing to help the Company. In fact 
before the charter was granted the Queen wrote to Fred- 
erick of Denmark asking him for his sanction of the com- 
pany about to be created. 126 A year later she wrote re- 
questing free passage through the Sound for the East- 
land Merchants. 127 In August of 1580 she sent Dr. John 
Eogers into Denmark and Poland for the express purpose 
of securing redress for grievances and of procuring "some 
satisfaction to the parties damnified, " 128 as well as "for 
causes of the Easte-land Merchauntes to the Kinge of 
Pollonia, his Magistrates of Elbing, etc." 129 In 1583 
John Herbert was sent to Poland to look after the inter- 
ests of the merchants there. 

In 1586 the Company petitioned the government to urge 
the King of Denmark concerning their great losses and 
also for the better safety of their goods against the strict 
laws of that country. 130 That same year Daniel Rogers 
was sent to Denmark in behalf of the merchants. 131 In 
1588 he was sent again at the death of Frederick II and 
again he made efforts to better conditions for the English 
traders. 132 In fact throughout the rest of Elizabeth's 
reign there were periodical negotiations with Denmark 

i26Harleian 4943, f. 73. 

127 45th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec., App. II, p. 25. 

128 A. P. C, XII, p. 158. 

129 A. P. C, XIII, p. 401. 

iso C. S. P., Dom., 1581-1590, pp. 329 and 337. 
i3i Cat. Cottonian MSS., p. 213. 

132 Cat. Landsdowne MSS., Pt. I, p. 107; Camden, History of Eliza- 
beth, Queen of England, London, 1688, p. 421. 



282 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

upon a group of differences which had arisen between the 
two countries; and in each negotiation the question of 
greater privileges for the merchants and indemnity for 
the losses they had sustained, was taken up by the Eng- 
lish negotiators. 

In 1594 the Company applied to Lord Burghley for 
the Queen's protection against the Dantzigers who 
were trying to get permission from the King of Po- 
land to arrest English goods in reprisal for damages sus- 
tained by them at the hands of her Majesty's seamen. 133 
In general it seems clear that the Company looked to the 
government to champion its cause abroad and it is also 
clear that the government willingly consented to enter 
the lists in its behalf. 

But however much the government might like to see the 
merchants prosper, it was not willing to expend anything 
more than time and influence to aid them. The merchants 
had to meet the actual expenses of embassies and missions 
wherein their interests were involved. This is illustrated 
in the case of Dr. John Rogers, who was "with authority e 
from her Majestie employed for causes of the Easte-land 
Merchauntes to the Kinge of Pollonia, his Magistrates of 
Elbing, etc., at the charges of the said marchauntes. " 134 
Once in a moment of extraordinary generosity the Queen 
agreed to pay half the expenses of an emissary to Dantzig, 
if the Company would pay the other half "by an imposi- 
tion, with their consents to be laid on their cloths, to raise 
the same moiety; for the company is so poor as it will be 
hard for them to bear the whole charge or the one half 
by other means than some such course." 135 (December 
23, 1594). In July of 1597 when an ambassador from the 
King of Poland was expected, the Council wrote to the 

133 Hist. MSS. Com. Eeport on Hatfield House MSS., V., pp. 16-17. 

134 A. P. C, XIII, p. 401. 

135 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. on Hatfield House MSS., V, p. 46. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 283 

Lord Mayor concerning accommodations for him. The let- 
ter set forth, "her Majesty's pleasure is that your Lord- 
ship shall cause some convenient citizen's house that hathe 
good furniture in yt to be prepared and made ready in 
London where he maie be lodged and received for the 
tyme he shall make his aboad here, whereof we praie you 
to have care and to certefy us what house you shall 
thincke meet for that purpose. We thincke yt fitt yf 
there be any Dantzick merchante's house that shalbe con- 
venient that he maie be there placed. ' ' 136 

Occasionally when the government prepared an embas- 
sage that was to take care of the interests of two or three 
companies, it levied upon all of them for a contribution 
toward paying the expenses. In 1600 when there was to 
be a formal negotiation with Denmark, the Council wrote 
to the Merchant Adventurers, the Muscovy Company and 
the Eastland Merchants. Each company was informed 
that " ... her Majesty is at this present e to send 
Commissioners unto the cyttye of Embden to meete there 
with other that are sent from the King of Denmarke to 
treate of all matters that shall concerne the trafficque of 
your Companye and other her Majesty's merchauntes that 
trade into the East partes, and also the entercourse to 
Embden, and to establishe some good order for the good 
of you and other her Majesty's merchauntes. Forasmuch 
as this negotiacion doth concerne you in your trafficque 
and trade, and [it] is intended that three Commyssion- 
ers shalbe sent thither, being chosen of persons of honour, 
gravity e and learning, her Majesty's pleasure is you shall 
conferre amongst yourselves of some course to be taken 
by way of contribucion to leavye such a somme of money 
as may serve for the defraying of parte of the charges of 
those Commyssioners, wherein expedicion is to be used 
because the appointed time of the meeting wilbe shortly 

136 A. P. C, XXVII, pp. 302-3. 



284 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

at hand . . . You must also have care to provide ship- 
ping to serve for theire transportation. ' ' 137 

Although the government saw to it that the merchants 
helped bear the burden of expense in these affairs, it was 
no less active in preventing them from wasting their sub- 
stance. On the day after the Council wrote to the Lord 
Mayor about accommodations for the Polish ambassador, 
mentioned above, an audience was accorded that function- 
ary. On that occasion he behaved with such unprece- 
dented discourtesy toward the Queen and made such 
threats against the English merchants in Poland that a 
letter was immediately despatched to the Governor of the 
Eastland Company "to make knowne to the merchantes 
that trade to Dantzick or to anie other partes in the East 
Contries that they forbeare all offices of ceremony towarde 
him, as of vysitacion, sending presentes or what soever else 
of like gratificacion untill you shall receive further direc- 
tion from us in that behalf. Wherein we praie you to take 
speedy order." 138 

As for actual trading operations between the Company 
and the government, such were impossible since this was a 
regulated company and all the buying and selling was 
done by individuals. The government seems to have en- 
trusted the purchasing of supplies for the navy to one 
individual who under Mary and Elizabeth is mentioned 
as the "Queen's merchant for Danske. " In Mary's reign 
William Watson occupied the position. Upon his death 
in December of 1559 139 Thomas Allen succeeded to the 
post, which he held until 1603. In the eighties he is 
enumerated among the officers of the navy and at that 
time he is credited with receiving the modest remunera- 

137 A. P. C, XXX, p. 195. 
iss a. P. C, XXVII, p. 307. 

139 Nicholas, The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant- 
Taylor of London, Camden Society, XLII, 1847, p. 218. 



THE EASTLAND COMPANY 285 

tion of £30 per annum for his services. 140 Doubtless he 
did not rely upon that for his sole income. He was a 
charter member of the Eastland Company which would 
seem to indicate that he was a merchant of some means 
and influence. 

Just how much was left to Allen's discretion in the ex- 
ercise of his office is somewhat uncertain. In the sixties 
he seems to have been little more than an agent. In 
May of 1565 the Queen wrote to Frederick II of Denmark 
asking for free passage through the Sound for four ships 
laden with English cloth and rabbit skins which she was 
sending with Thomas Allen, to buy materials for the 
navy. 141 As time went on he seems to have assumed more 
responsibility. In 1572 he wrote to Burghley that he had 
spent £1800 of his own money in the Queen's service in 
rope-making. 142 This must have proved a not unprofitable 
investment for in 1590 he advanced the still greater sum 
of £3000 from his own funds. 143 

In May, 1603, he was succeeded by Simeon Furner 144 
who in turn was succeeded by Francis Cherry in 1604. 145 

1*0 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Com. V, p. 106. 

i4i45th Rep. Dep. Keeper of Rec., App. II, p. 23. 

142 Hist. MSS. Com. Report on Hatfield House MSS., II, p. 37. 

143 C. S. P., Dom., 1581-1590, p. 707. 

144 C. S. P., Dom., Add., 1580-1625, p. 423. 

145 C. S. P., Dom., 1603-1610, p. 119. 



CHAPTER III 

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EASTLAND COMPANY AT ELBINQ 

If the Eastland Merchants were to follow further the 
program adopted by the Merchant Adventurers to de^- 
velop and increase the English trade with the Continent, 
then they had merely begun their labors when they ob- 
tained a charter from the queen. There now remained 
the equally essential and far more delicate business of 
securing concessions from the government of the country 
to which they purposed to trade. For, after all, the char- 
ter from the queen would be of little advantage to them, 
should the foreign government choose to withhold its fa- 
vor. 

And just here arises the question of what was the gov- 
ernment to which the Eastland merchants must now sue 
for favor. Hitherto, for centuries, the English had re- 
garded the Hanseatic League as the ruler of the commerce 
of the Baltic. For all practical purposes of trade, Dantzig 
was the real power in Prussia. The Treaty of Utrecht 
made by Edward IV with the Hanse in 1473 was always 
quoted as the document establishing the trading rights 
of the English in Prussia. 1 It is true, there were certain 
old treaties made between the English and the Grand 
Masters of the Teutonic Knights which remained theoret- 
ically in force. 2 It is also true that the English addressed 
occasional appeals in trade matters to Sigismund Augus- 
tus, the King of Poland and the overlord of Prussia. 
But the King, though very courteous to Elizabeth, showed 

i All the English demands for rights were based upon this treaty. 
The sources for the subject of English-Hanse relations at this time 
abound with references to it. 

«S. P., Dom., Eliz. 126, f. 25. 

286 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 287 

very little interest in commercial affairs, as well as very 
little inclination to antagonize the rich and haughty 
Dantzig. 3 Nevertheless there came a time when the king- 
ship in Poland became the determining factor in Polish 
trade regulations, when this power was in active opposi- 
tion to Dantzig and indifferent to the interests of the 
Hanse. With that change came neAv opportunities of 
which the English merchants, now organized, alert and 
ambitious, lost no time in taking advantage. 

In 1572 Sigismund Augustus died and with him ended 
the line of the Jagiellos which had occupied the Polish 
throne for two centuries. The next four years saw in 
Poland many turbulent gatherings assembled to choose a 
new king. After the failure with Henry of Anjou and 
the subsequent incursions of the Tartars on the eastern 
border, the electors proceeded to a more serious consid- 
eration of the question of placing a suitable person upon 
the throne. But, in this, as in most other matters which 
came up for decision in Poland, there was little hope of a 
unanimous choice. The Senators of the Republic chose 
the Hapsburg Emperor, Maximilian II, while the gentry 
of the country declared for the Hungarian Prince of 
Transylvania, Stephan Bathory. Then ensued a race for 
the coronation in which Bathory, a man of strength and 
energy, as well as one of the ablest generals of his time, 
had little trouble in winning from his superannuated ri- 
val. He made his state entry into Cracow on March 23, 
1576, and was crowned there on May 1 of that year. 

Through his decisive and unfaltering policy in the first 
few months after his coronation, Bathory brought under 
his domination all of the heterogeneous elements of which 
Poland was composed at this time, except the free city of 

s Perhaps the king was made more reluctant to intercede for the 
English because they so persistently afforded aid to the Czar, his 
enemy. He sets forth his position very well in his letters found in 
Cottonian, Nero B 11, ff. 91, 92 and 98. 



288 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

Dantzig. The liberty-loving burghers, fearing that en- 
croachments might be made upon the autonomy of their 
city, demanded of the new king the confirmation of its 
freedom and privileges and the abolition of certain abuses 
before they would acknowledge his authority. 4 Stephan, 
however, considered his coronation oath quite sufficient to 
cover the case. 5 Dantzig, secretly aided by the King of 
Denmark and the Emperor, held stoutly to its demands. 
Although negotiations went on for several months, they 
brought forth no solution of the problem. At last in 
March of 1577 the ban, proclaiming the Dantzigers as re- 
bellious, was published, and means devised for putting 
down the city by force. 6 Then followed the famous siege 
which lasted until December of that year. 

Although the King resorted to arms in this struggle, 
he realized that a more effective way to humble the proud 
and wealthy town lay in an attack upon its commerce. 
Situated at the western mouth of the Vistula it had, for a 
long time, served as the depot through which most of the 
products of the broad plains of eastern Europe had found 
their way to other lands. 7 And the Dantzigers made the 
most of their commercially strategic position. They en- 
forced strictly the rule, adopted in most of the Hanse 
Towns, of compelling all foreign traders to have dealings 
only with a citizen and prohibiting all trade of "guest 
with guest." Even the Polish noblemen were not permit- 
ted to sell their grain to foreigners, a regulation under 
which they chafed considerably. 8 Now Stephan, in his 

* Behring, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Stadt Elbing, Elbing, 1900, 
p. 2. 

5 Behring, p. 3. 

6 Behring, p. 3. 

7 Dantzig had not always enjoyed this advantage. It had been 
created in 1371 by a flood of the Vistula and the formation of a new 
mouth in the vicinity of the town. Petermann's Geogr. Mitteilun- 
gen, Vol. 5, (1905) pp. 41-42, 

s Behring, p. 3. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 289 

"Universal" of March 17, 1577, moved the channel of 
Polish commerce from Dantzig to Ebbing, a port on the 
Frische Haff near the mouth of the Nogat, the eastern 
arm of the Vistula. 9 This step was soon followed by an- 
other, more effective in attracting trade to the new route. 
Induced by the King's representative and by John Spren- 
gel, a burgrave of the town who meditated upon the time 
when the geographical conditions had pointed to Elbing 
as the emporium of the Vistula system, Elbing granted 
free trade to foreigners and outsiders for a year. 10 Im- 
mediately trade responded to these inducements. 11 

On the other hand, it was to be expected that Dantzig 
would try to defend her trade as she tried to defend her 
walls. And for this she had two plans in mind; one to 
cut off the traffic by sea between Elbing and the rest of 
Europe by sending out privateers, the other to cut off the 
river traffic between Elbing and the interior by placing 
obstructions in the water ways in her vicinity. 

To accomplish the first of these aims, early in May she 
set two ships to sea and a few weeks later she added four 
more. 12 A prize commission was also created to have over- 
sight in these matters. Nor did this prove an unsuccess- 
ful plan. From the middle of July to the first of Septem- 
ber seventeen vessels were captured at sea besides many 
grain barges on the Vistula. Occasionally a plundering 
expedition was carried through on the Vistula and into 
the Frische Haff. 13 

The second part of the program, that is, the obstruc- 
tion of the Nogat River and the port at Elbing, was con- 
sidered by the Dantzigers as a far more effective measure 
than the privateers. It was an exceedingly concrete and 

9 Behring, p. 3. 
io Behring, p. 4. 

11 Ibid. 

12 Behring, p. 7. 

13 Ibid. 



290 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

literal way not only to force trade away from Elbing but 
also to compel it to come back to Dantzig; but it was a 
method that appealed far more to the hot-headed masses 
than to the prudent councillors and aldermen who always 
kept in mind the time when peace would have to be made 
with the king. 14 Repeated demands for the execution of 
this plan came during the late spring and summer and 
each time they were evaded by the town authorities, until 
finally it was charged that the delays were caused by the 
machinations of certain selfish persons. 15 Coincident with 
this charge came the retreat of the besieging Polish army, 
whose frightful devastations in the surrounding country 
aroused the masses to a pitch wherewith the council could 
no longer cope. 16 Accordingly on September 20 the 
Dantzig fleet, aided by the Danish squadron, making in all 
an armada of some twenty vessels, on board of which were 
two hundred German soldiers, put to sea with the definite 
purpose of placing obstructions in the Nogat and the 
Elbing Rivers and of doing the enemies' places as much 
harm as possible. 17 

The next fortnight saw the execution of these plans. 
Although the Elbingers had, early in the summer, erected 
a block-house at the mouth of the Elbing River and in it 
had had quartered a company of a hundred men 18 and 
although the king responded to their appeals for aid by 
dispatching an able captain, Caspar Bekes, with five hun- 
dred Poles and five hundred Hungarians, 19 yet the Dant- 
zigers were able to carry out their plans. Entering the 
Frische Haff they captured twenty-five merchant vessels, 20 

i* Behring, p. 8. 

is Ibid. 

is Behring, p. 10. 

17 Behring, pp. 8 and 18. 

18 Behring, p. 7. 

19 Behring, p. 21. 

20 Behring, p. 19, note. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 291 

then coming on towards Elbing they stopped to levy 
tribute upon the coast towns of Braunsberg and Frauen- 
berg, 21 and at last on September 26 they came to the mouth 
of the Elbing River. For two days they busied them- 
selves plundering the neighborhood, burning granaries and 
doing whatever else of damage they could. 22 On the 28th 
they accomplished the main object of their expedition. 
First sinking three small vessels in the stream connecting 
Elbing with the Nogat, thus cutting off the town from 
communication with Marienberg where the king was, they 
effected a landing near the town. 23 While some of the 
Dantzigers were engaging the Elbing defense, others man- 
aged to start such fires in the granaries and lumber yards 
that the whole town was threatened with destruction. 
Whereupon the Elbing troops were forced to withdraw in 
order to help extinguish the flames. 2 * The Dantzigers 
were then left free to complete their work. After de- 
stroying the bulwark at the mouth of the river, they pro- 
ceeded to sink four large sea ships, loaded with brush, 
sand and stone, beside a couple of river barges at two 
places in the mouth of the Nogat. 25 Completing their 
work by setting fire to the block-house and several small 
villages near-by, they blew their trumpets, shot off their 
ordnance and departed. 26 

But the Dantzigers who had been so accustomed to carry 
things with a high hand, had at last overreached them- 
selves. It is true they had carried through their pro- 
gram to the last detail, but they had also brought down 
upon their heads the enmity of those without whose co- 
operation they could not hold their position as absolute 

2i IUd. 

22 Behring, p. 21. 

23 Behring, p. 23. 

24 Behring, p. 24. 

25 Behring, pp. 27 and 37. 

26 Behring, p. 28. 



292 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

rulers of the Polish trade. The distress of the Elbingers 
was intense; the bulwark, upon which they depended to 
keep the river within bounds, had been destroyed, ob- 
structions had been placed in the rivers so that the water 
rose and fell over the sunken ships ' ' with a great noise, ' ' 27 
the block-house newly built that year, four villages and a 
considerable portion of their own town reduced to ashes. 28 
It was scarcely to be expected that thereafter the Elbingers 
should consider themselves bound to observe those princi- 
ples of loyalty which contributed so largely to the com- 
mercial success of Dantzig. It would hardly be in ac- 
cordance with human nature should the Elbingers not 
seize the opportunity when it presented itself of seeking 
a fitting revenge upon their enemy, especially since this 
revenge was coupled with distinct profits to themselves. 

Such an opportunity came when the English merchants 
sought privileges in Poland. 29 It will be remembered that 
just following these events in Poland, came the open 
breach between England and the Hanse, brought about 
by the expulsion of the Merchant Adventurers from Ham- 
burg. In this affair Dantzig was a leader against the Eng- 
lish. 30 Not only did she use all of her influence to bring 
Hamburg back into the Hanseatic fold but she also made 
conditions as unendurable as she could for the English. 
The merchants maintained that they were "wourse vsed" 
in Dantzig than were any other merchant strangers who 
resorted there. 31 At last driven out "by meanes of most 
greuous and intolerable Exactions, Impositions and ar- 
rests," the English left the traditional trading place and 

27 Ibid. 

28 ma. 

29 Behring, p. 11, Ohne den Uberfall auf Elbing und die gerechte 
Erbitterung, welche er in der hart betroffenen Stadt hervorrief, ware 
die englische Residenz daselbst niemals moglich gewesen. 

so Ehrenberg, pp. 131-158. 

si S. P., Dom., Eliz. 126, f. 26; C. S. P., For., 1578-1579, pp. 494- 
495. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 293 

went to Elbing. 32 Their reception there was all that they 
could expect. The Elbingers were now in a position to 
avenge the injuries they had received at the hands of the 
Dantzigers as they were also to have the more substantial 
gratification of seeing " themselues enriched, and ther 
towne beutif yed. ' ' 33 

From this time onward the question ceased to be one 
directly between England and the Hanse. The solidarity 
of the League had been irreparably broken. The English 
could now gain their ends quite independently of the 
League. With Elbing completely alienated from it, with 
the Polish King by no means well-disposed toward Dantzig, 
the English had at last found a situation in Prussia which 
made it possible to ignore the League. So quickly did 
they lose interest in the Hanse quarrel, as related to the 
Eastland trade, that John Herbert, the English ambassa- 
dor sent to Poland (1583-1585) especially to establish the 
merchants there, wrote home in 1584, "I for my parte am 
lothe to enter into the action of the Hanses, for that I 
knowe they are intricate and require great lerning and 
deep judgment to enter into the depth of theim. ' ' 34 

The formal negotiations for privileges at Elbing were 
begun soon after the Eastland Company received its char- 
ter. A committee of five merchants 35 representing the 
Queen and the society went before the town authorities 
and offered to transfer all of the English trade to Elbing 
provided that the Queen was assured beforehand by letter 
from the magistrates that her merchants should have free 
navigation, immunity from new tolls and exactions and 
protection to depart in case any misfortune overtook them 

32 S. p., Poland, I, No. 11. 

33 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

s* Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 10. 

35 S. P., Poland, I, No. 4. These merchants were George Ruchs 
[Rookes], Robert Walton, Matthew Gray, Thomas Gorney and John 
Briks. 



294 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

there. 36 With this offer the E Hungers found no fault and 
on December 4, 1579, they replied in a letter to the Queen 
which set forth that they would willingly concede the 
"Libertie of traficque" to the English; that since there 
existed agreements and a covenant in regard to the tolls 
at the port, there was no reason to fear innovations; that 
so far as they were concerned none should be adopted with- 
out her consent; that since the King had granted liberty 
of commerce in the whole kingdom, they would do their 
part to see that it was enforced. Finally they promised to 
use their influence with his Majesty that he see to it that 
her merchants should remain free from difficulties placed 
in their way by the ''malevolence and iniquity of others, " 
the reference being, of course, to the Dantzigers. 37 

The English were quite satisfied with these assurances. 
An order was immediately sent out to the officers of the 
ports of London, Hull, Newcastle, Ipswich and Lynn that 
they should take bonds "in good sommes according to the 
valew of their merchandize" of all ships departing for the 
East Countries "that they shall discharge their marchan- 
dizes only at Elbing. ' ' 38 The Queen then very promptly 
replied to the Elbingers, stating her entire satisfaction 
with the preliminaries and asking for a formal treaty to 
concede certain definite privileges and immunities to the 
Eastland Company. She assured the magistrates of the 
good behavior of her subjects. 39 At the same time she 
wrote to Stephan about the affair. 40 

36 S. P., Poland, I, No. 4. 
3T IUd. 

38 A. P. C., XI, p. 378, February 6, 1580. 

39 Harleian, 4943, f. 16, February 9, 1580. 

40 Harleian, 4943, f. 18. In this letter the Queen writes as if this 
were not the first time she had approached him upon this subject 
and as if he had replied favorably to her advances. "Annus iam est 
ultimi Decembris mensis 21° die elapsus ex quo mercatorum nrorum 
causam que in libertate commerciorum exercendorum cum anti- 
quorum priuilegiorum et si necesse sit nouorum etiam et auctiorum 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 295 

The bearers of the Queen's letters, presumably mer- 
chants, were to act as her and the Company's representa- 
tives. Among them a certain John Langton who had been 
a resident in Poland for thirty years and bore an irre- 
proachable reputation seems to have been the foremost. 41 
Upon the delivery of the Queen's letter, the Elbingers 
immediately asked the Englishmen what privileges "they 
pretendid. ' ' 42 Whereupon the merchants very diplomat- 
ically responded only "suche as in old tyme to the whole 
Englishe nation and as of late tyme by the Hamburgers 
to the Merchant Adventurers were granted. ' ' 43 With 
this answer the magistrates were more than pleased. 44 
Should they be accused hereafter of perfidy to the League 
they had only to point to the precedent established by 
Hamburg, one of its leading towns. They had only to 
repeat the arguments made by the Hamburgers but a 
decade before in order to justify their present course. 

But however tactful the merchants might be, they were 
not equal to the occasion when formal negotiations were 
taken up with the town and the King of Poland. Possibly 
they realized "howe meanly, the Pollish Counsaile esteem 
a merchant, or any man not gentle borne. ' ' 45 Further- 
more the news came that the Dantzigers had been using 
some "indirecte practises ... to staye and w th - 
draw" the Elbingers from their policy toward the Eng- 
lish. 46 Very evidently there was needed a trained diplo- 
mat. However the merchants were not willing to entrust 

donatione coniuneta concedenda SV comendauinms. In quo quidem 
negotio tarn feliciter laborauimus ut eiusdem libertatis obtinende 
quatenus cum subditorum vrorum vniuersique Regni bono staret 
spem nobis faceret vra responsio." 
4i S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

42 lUd. 

43 lUd. 

44 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

45 S. P., Poland, I, No. 28. 

46 Sloane, 2442, f. 41 ; S. P., Poland, I, No. 6. 



296 TEADE IN THE BALTIC 

their affairs entirely in the hands of a person not belonging 
to the Society. Accordingly they sent two commissioners, 
William Salkins, a merchant, and John Rogers, a "Doctor 
of the Civill Lawe" from Cambridge. 47 The latter had had 
some experience in diplomacy in Denmark in 1577 48 and 
was considered an altogether competent person. 49 

Before starting for Elbing, Rogers made elaborate 
preparations. He searched the Tower, the Exchequer and 
the Rolls for documents which could aid him in his mis- 
sion. 50 Old treaties made with the Grand Masters of the 
Teutonic Knights in the early part of the fifteenth cen- 
tury were resurrected, the Treaty of Utrecht brought out 
of the Exchequer, and the "bokes of the Anseas" copied. 51 

Being a representative of the Queen as well as of the 
Society, Rogers received instructions from both. The in- 
structions from the Queen, issued in August, were of a 
general nature. 52 He was to conduct himself in such a 
way as to discourage the Elbingers from demanding any- 
thing which "may be thoughte by vs and o r Counsaile not 
meete to be granted on o r parte." He was to bind the 
English to no conclusions other than those to which they 
had already given their consent or which were included 
in "suche Charters as haue passed betweene o r progeni- 
tors and the D. of Prussia and the townes vnder theire 
Jurisdiction." If a demand for such arose, he was to 
refer the matter to the Privy Council for further advice. 

4?S. P., Poland, I, No. 11; A. P. C., XII, p. 147. 

48 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11; C. S. P., For., 1577-1578, p. 18 [No. 
28]. 

49 Sloane, 2442, f. 41. 

so S. P., Poland, I, No. 9 and 11. 

si Ibid. 

52 The copy of the instructions in Sloane, 2442, ff. 41-43, bears 
only the date of August, 1580, but in A. P. C, XII, p. 158 there is a 
note for a special instruction to be sent to Rogers, August 25. A 
reference is made to this in S. P., Poland, I, No. 9 showing that 
this was sent the day following the issue of the first instructions. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 297 

Should a request be made for the revival of the old rate 
of custom which the Hanse Towns used to enjoy in Eng- 
land, he should demonstrate the impossibility of any such 
return owing to the recent changes in monetary values and 
to the great increase "in all matters of expences apper- 
tayninge to the state of kinges and prynces." He was to 
make "his repayre unto'' the Duke of Prussia, who, she 
had been informed, had some interest in this matter; he 
was to acquaint the duke with her desire of fixing the 
trade of her merchants at Elbing and in her name to "re- 
quest hys best furtherance thervnto." He was to deal 
with the King of Poland as with the Elbingers. For the 
particulars of his negotiation he was to receive his instruc- 
tions from the merchants. Later he was furnished by 
them with fifty-two articles, 53 covering a great variety of 
subjects. He was to secure privileges for them in regard 
to all phases of life — legal protection, religious liberty, 
their demands extending even to such a concrete point as 
the right to use the common crane. 

By the middle of September, 1580, Rogers was in 
Elbing 54 and ready to begin his work ; but at the very 
outset he found his hands tied. As might be supposed, 
the most important document for him to have would be 
the Treaty of Hamburg and this he did not have. Be- 
fore he left England he had realized its importance. 55 
The merchants had obtained it, he had examined it and 
ordered that it be copied and the copy sealed and delivered 
to him. 56 When he was ready to embark he inquired for 
the treaty but was told that although it had been copied 
it had not yet been sealed, but that it would be sent to 
Elbing with Mr. Salkins who was to follow him in a few 

53 S. P., Poland, I, No. 9. He stopped only a few days with the 
King of Denmark. C. S. P., For., 1579-1580, p. 409. 
s* S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

55 Hid. 

56 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 



298 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

weeks. 57 Immediately upon Rogers' arrival the magistrates 
asked for the Treaty of Hamburg. He told them that Mr. 
Salkins was bringing it. 58 Consequently great was their 
disappointment when, upon Salkins' arrival, it was found 
not to be among the documents he had brought. The 
burgomaster in deep chagrin told Rogers that he "per- 
ceauyd now well, that it might be trewe, that the Danskers 
had reported" that the English would draw down upon 
the heads of the Elbingers not only the wrath of the 
Hanses but the displeasure of the King as well. 59 "And 
verely (quoth he) I haue bene founde alwayes to haue bene 
carefull for this Cittie and neuer reproched before my 
prince and rather than I wolde my old hoarie hedde shulde 
be dishonored in this myn age I well take suche Corse, 
as I reckon to haue the Treatie of Hamburge in my pos- 
session. ' ' 60 Forthwith the town authorities refused ab- 
solutely to proceed with the negotiation unless the treaty 
were shown to them. 61 Rogers wrote, "Their Graunts so 
far forth to take place, as the Treatie of Hamburge 
were produced, and Negatiuely, conclude theye wolde not 
without thesame. ' ' 62 Rogers did everything he could to 
allay the wrath and suspicions of the burgomaster and to 
procure the treaty. He wrote letters home and he urged 
the deputy at Elbing to send for the treaty but their ef- 
forts brought forth no results. Rogers was much embar- 
rassed over the affair. The burgomaster and magistrates 
never left the town but that, upon their return, they in- 
stantly inquired about "thesayd longe desyred Treatie." 63 
The post or others had hardly arrived before they 

57 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 
ss Ibid. 

59 ma. 

so Hid. 

ei/6td.; S. P., Poland, 1, No. 9 and 12. 

62 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

63 Ibid. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 299 

clamored to know if it had come. "Notorious is it," wrote 
Rogers, "that at theyr owne charges this Cittie sent an 
expert and an expresse man to Hamburge ther meaninge 
by frindshippe or by Corruption of the secretarye or 
otherwyse to attayne thesaide Treatie; But so Secrett and 
firme wher they they cold not compasse thesame. " e4 At 
last early in March the burgomaster "withe suche vehe- 
ment and ernest words . . . vtterid his mynde" that 
an express post was finally despatched. 65 

The question arises whether the merchants had any 
definite reason for so delaying the negotiation of Rogers 
or whether this was merely a case of negligence. In view 
of the fact that they were paying Rogers' expenses which 
were assuming rather large proportions, it seems hardly 
probable that they would ignore their own interests so 
persistently. It then remains to inquire what reason they 
might have had for retarding this negotiation. And this, 
according to Rogers, was to be found in the reluctance of 
some of the English merchants to leave Dantzig. He main- 
tained, and the authorities of Elbing shared his views, that 
the whole cause was to be found in the machinations of 
certain Englishmen. 68 "To what perpose shall her Ma tie 
send letters to this Cittie, or Comissioners, when a fewe 
persons of wealthe shal by Sinister practise distorne her 
highnes intents to theyre factions. Wei it is knowen that 
Peter Kemerlinke a dansker and a Trader withe our nation 
hathe his first daughter marryed in Englande to Robert 
Hilson a rich merchaunt; his second daughter is marryed, 
to one Swister, a kinsman of Mr. Hilsones; his thirde 
daughter to John Barnel a riche merchaunte also; . . . 
Roger Fludde hathe marryed a danskers daughter, and 
is resident in danske, and vauntithe him so muche of his 

e* S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. 

65 Ibid. 

66 S. P., Poland, I, No. 11, 12, 23 and 24. 



300 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

welthe, by his wyffe and trade, so he hathe spoken most 
arrogant words against the authors of this trade, etc say- 
inge he wil be the destruction of this Elbinge trade etc. 
Those mens capitalls be very great, and worke great ef- 
fectes. Hughe Offeley (estemed here a very riche mer- 
chaunt) a great trader in fraunce (et quid non?) Mayn- 
taynethe here a frenche factor namyd (Pattelier) who 
hathe (as it were a licence) to destroye the trade at 
Elbinge, and mayntaynethe w th defiance of the deputie, 
his actions for danske, sayinge his M r the worshippf M r 
Hughe Offeley, geuethe him meat and drincke besydes 
wages, and he wil followe his aduises . . . Robert 
Cooley, a factor sometimes of Mr. William Cockayne (but 
vppon Cause now none) scheducethe thesaid Mr. Cockayne 
his sonne and yonge prentise Thomas Stepney, and by all 
meanes possible framithe the yonge lads for danske. 
This Robert Cooley is an very factious person (the cham- 
pion of Roger fludde) and is enamored cum venere 
Gedanensi . . . Mr. Bodlighe hathe his sonne here 
(frind withe Mr. Fludde) and fauore they (as I well 
knowe) danske. Mr. Salkins (ioynt comissioner withe me) 
hathe his seruant Jn. Parker continuallye . . . re- 
mayninge always at danske. What he dothe there is not 
unknowen to the magistrates of ye towne, to me and others 
sincerely affected. Mr. deputie Russel hathe had (but) 
2 factors or prentises a long tyme at danske. it is sayde 
they be there to recouer debts but well know ye mer- 
chaunts here, what is ye cause (they obeyinge ordres Sell 
Not)."* 7 

Whether Rogers and the Elbingers were correct or not 
in their assumption that these merchants prevented the 

6T S. P., Poland, I, No. 11. This condition of inter-marriage al- 
ready existing between Englishmen and Dantzigers explains, per- 
haps, the absence of its prohibition in the charter. This may be 
another case in which the conditions forced the Eastland Merchants 
to modify their imitation of the Merchant Adventurers. 






THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 301 

sending of the Treaty of Hamburg to Elbing, the fact 
remains that the treaty did not materialize for many 
months after Rogers went there, if indeed it ever did. 
And as has been pointed out the Elbingers refused to ne- 
gotiate without it. In spite of that Rogers tried to have 
conferences with them, though with, little success. He also 
paid a visit to King Stephan at Warsaw in March, 1581. 
There he put forward the demands of the English for a 
residence at Elbing, for a definite legal status and for the 
jurisdiction of the governor of the Company over the 
Englishmen resident in Elbing. 68 Although the King was 
engrossed in the preparations for an invasion of Muscovy 
he seems to have listened quite willingly to Rogers and 
apparently approved the whole scheme in an informal 
way. For the Queen, Stephan had only the most gallant 
feelings. Rogers reports that throughout the interview 
"His highnes neuer made mention of her most gratious 
Ma tie but euer raysed him (for honor) one foote from 
the place he sate on and toke of his Little polishe Cappe 
one halfe hand breadthe or rather more from his most 
honorable hedde. ' ' 69 After some discussion it was agreed, 
in view of the King's approaching absence, that he should 
appoint a commission of certain of his councillors who 
should repair to Elbing for the "more ample examina- 
tion and disquisition" of the proposed agreement. 70 It 
was thought that this plan would cause little delay, see- 
ing that so much unanimity of opinion and such amicable 
relations prevailed between the parties. 71 Before his de- 
parture into Muscovy, the King accordingly appointed a 
commission of several magnates, among whom Stanislaus 
Karnkouski, the primate of the kingdom, and John Kostka, 
Palatine of Sandomier and Captain of Marienburg, were 

68 S. P., Poland, I, No. 9. 
eo Ibid. 

to S. P., Poland, I, No. 9. 
?i Ibid. 



302 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

the principals. 72 Owing to the death of the latter, how- 
ever, the commission was never able to act on the matter. 73 

Before Rogers could accomplish anything further with 
the Elbingers, he was recalled by the Privy Council. Ap- 
parently the merchants had succeeded in discrediting him 
with the home government. It is quite apparent why 
some of them whom he had accused of double-dealing, 
should be anxious for his removal. Others were dissat- 
isfied with him because of his rather heavy and, as they 
considered, unnecessary expenses. 74 They maintained that 
his visit to the Polish court with all of its attendant out- 
lay, was entirely unauthorized. 75 The Privy Council, re- 
flecting this dissatisfaction, wrote in July, 1581, to Rogers 
and Salkins "touching their remisse dealinges in the ne- 
gotiation with the Elbingers and to hasten the dispatche 
therof end their retorne homewardes. ' ' 76 Later came 
their definite recall. In the early autumn of 1581 Rogers 
obeyed and returned to England. 77 

In order that his year spent in Poland might not be 
entirely barren of tangible results, before he departed, 
Rogers drew up a model for a treaty which he left with 
the Elbingers for their ratification. This was then to be 
sent on to England after him. 78 It seems likely that 
Rogers was forced to depend upon his memory for the 
reproduction of the Treaty of Hamburg. 79 The document 
which he drew up contains much that is in that treaty, 
but it is cast in wholly dissimilar form. 80 The magistrates 
of Elbing, always anxious to retain the good-will of the 

72 S. P., Poland, I, No. 13. 

73 Ibid. 

74 Hatfield House MSS., 13, f. 78. 

75 Hid. 

76 A. P. C, XIII, p. 133. 

77 S. P., Poland, I, No. 13. 

78 Cottonian, Nero B II, f. 155. 

79 This treaty is printed in Ehrenberg, pp. 312-326. 
so Cottonian, Nero B II, ff. 155 b.-185. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 303 

Queen, followed Rogers' suggestion, though they did not 
ratify the convention entirely. Instead they placed their 
opinions beside each article in a parallel column. They 
agreed to the majority of the provisions; others, the most 
important ones, they referred to the King and a few they 
refused. And all were apparently left in suspense until 
it should be seen what the Queen purposed doing for the 
Elbingers. 81 This they drew up November 30, 1581. In 
general the document which Rogers drew up, with the 
apostils of the Elbingers, comprises a long and verbose 
document and one that quite justified Dr. John Ham- 
mond's opinion delivered a few months after this: "Most 
of the things concluded upon are such as needed no capit- 
ulation or articles, to my understanding, for they were to 
be looked for of common right in every country where 
there is any 'policy' and which is not barbarous; as li- 
cense to sue and be sued by a proctor, justice against 
malefactors, recovery of stolen goods, and that one not 
to be punished or contended for any other's trespass or 
debt, and many other such like. Though these are speci- 
fied in the 'intercourse' of Hamburg, I see no great rea- 
son in that precedent. ' ' 82 

Considering Rogers's mission as a whole, it had been 
a series of delays and fruitless endeavors. Nothing had 
been accomplished save an articulation of the privileges 
sought by the English. For these failures, Rogers was 

si They had the advice of the King's councillors, who were at this 
time not entirely convinced of the sincerity of the English. John 
Herbert wrote August 16, 1583 : "On monday being the fyft of this 
present I delyvered her Maty i re to the Bourgmasters, and having vsed 
som set speche, wherew th the [people] of this contrey is much de- 
lighted, among other I touched, by the way that her Maty was some- 
what agreved wth the last Annotacons sent by the citysans of this 
towne. They replyed, that it was so prescribed vnto them by som of 
the k. Councell, that as then semed to dowbt of the yssue of this 
treaty, as a thing not ment by the Englishe nation." S. P., Poland, 
I, No. 27. 

82 C. S. P., For., 1581-1582, p. 657-658. 



304 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

not wholly to blame. The absence of the King and the 
death of his commissioner made it impossible to proceed 
in the negotiation with the Polish government. The de- 
lays and double dealing of the English merchants made 
it hard to get very far with the town. And lastly, it 
becomes very apparent to anyone reading Dr. Rogers' let- 
ters, that his was hardly a personality to overcome all or 
even a part of these difficulties. Throughout the whole 
negotiation he displayed signal incapacity combined with 
the most exaggerated estimate of his own powers and at- 
tainments. 83 

After the recall of Rogers, the negotiation was carried 
on by correspondence for nearly two years. 84 Upon the 
arrival of his draft with its annotations by the Elbingers, 
it was soon seen that this was too unwieldy a document 
to be of much service, so it was revised and recast in a 
form closely resembling that of the Treaty of Hamburg. 
It now contained twenty-nine articles, most of which the 
Elbingers had agreed to or had referred to the King. This 
"formula" the Queen now sent to Elbing and to the King 
for ratification. 85 

To secure the ratification of the King to this agreement 
was no longer the simple matter it might once have been. 
As the bitter feelings engendered by the clash between 
Dantzig and the King, subsided, there appeared a very 
marked tendency toward reconciliation on both sides. 
Dantzig, in the realization of the powerlessness of the 

83 S. P., Poland, I, No. 7, 9 and 11. Perhaps his expenditure for 
wine of £28 [$700 in modern values] accounts, in part, for his in- 
capacity and "many disorders." Hatfield House MSS., 13, f. 78; 
A. P. C, XIII, p. 401. 

84 In the autumn of 1582 the king sent Stanislaus Ossowinski, 
chief gentlemen of the chamber [Cubicularium], with letters to 
England. He had an audience with the queen but it does not ap- 
pear that he contributed anything to the negotiation. S. P., Poland, 
I, No. 18 and 20. 

85 S. P., Poland, I, No. 16, 17 and 19; Treaty Papers, LV. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 305 

Hanseatic League to prevent the English from making 
inroads into the Polish trade, now turned to the King 
and used every means in her power to induce him to 
withhold his consent from the proposed agreement. But 
one very substantial obstacle remained in the way. Soon 
after the King had moved the depot of Polish commerce 
from Dantzig to Elbing, he had placed a toll upon all 
goods going out of the latter port. 86 When peace was 
made with Dantzig, the town had promised to pay this 
toll also, but for four years it neglected to remit to the 
King. As long then as Elbing paid a toll which the Dant- 
zigers evaded, the King would not be likely to do much 
to hinder the prosperity of the Elbingers. At last the 
Dantzigers saw this and hastened to remove the disad- 
vantage under which they were laboring. Accordingly in 
the spring of 1582 they turned over to him a half of their 
port dues. 87 Since the Polish diets were notoriously pe- 
nurious with the King, whose finances at this time were 
at a low ebb on account of his Muscovy campaign, it i« 
scarcely a cause for wonder that the Dantzigers, through 
their grant, made a distinct impression upon Stephan. 
When, therefore, the Elbingers urged him to sanction their 
proceedings with the English, the answer came that his 
Majesty would decide nothing until the arrival of an en- 
voy from Elizabeth and before he had summoned and 
heard the deputies of Elbing "and others, perhaps inter- 
ested in the matter. ' ' 88 

This development much disturbed the Elbingers and 
they wrote urgently to the Queen to make haste and send 
a representation to counteract the influence of the Dant- 
zigers. 89 However, their anxiety was premature, for 
Stephan was not a ruler who could grasp but a single 

86 Behring, p. 5. 

87 S. P., Poland, I, No. 23. 

88 Ibid. 

89 S. P., Poland, I, No. 15 and 23, 



306 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

phase of a question nor one to be unduly influenced by 
money. He was still very well disposed toward the 
project of settling the English at Elbing. He inquiried 
in regard to the departure of Rogers 90 and later asked 
the Queen to send an envoy to his court. 91 

But the Queen did not immediately respond to this 
request. Her procrastination was no doubt due to the 
influence of the merchants who had to pay the expenses 
of these embassies and who were just now much dis- 
gruntled over Rogers' spending over five hundred pounds 
[$12,500 in modern values] the year before. 92 She there- 
fore waited to see what could be accomplished by the ' ' for- 
mula" which the English had prepared. She answered 
the King's letter and stated that since there were so few 
things in connection with the matter that touched in any 
way the royal prerogative, she was sure there would be 
little difficulty in bringing the affair to a happy issue. 93 

Meanwhile the Dantzigers redoubled their efforts and, 
aided by certain of the English merchants who sympa- 
thized with them, they succeeded in keeping the whole 
negotiation at a standstill. 94 

In the spring of 1583 the Elbingers renewed their ap- 
peals to the Queen to send an envoy. 95 Finally it dawned 
upon the English that this was the only way by which 
the affair could ever be brought to a conclusion and so 
it was decided to send Mr. John Herbert, a Judge of the 
Admiralty, who just then was engaged in a mission to 
Denmark in regard to the Muscovy trade. 96 In this 
choice of Herbert the English were much more fortunate 

so S. P., Poland, I, No. 15. 

»i S. P., Poland, I, No. 18. 

92 Hatfield House, MSS., 13, f. 78. 

»3 S. P., Poland, I, No. 19. 

94 S. P., Poland, I, No. 24. 

95 Ibid. 

se S. P., Poland, I, No. 26 and a document unnumbered. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 307 

than they had been in that of Rogers. Herbert was a 
man of the highest type of intelligence and character. 

In July, 1583, Walsingham wrote to Herbert in Den- 
mark and instructed him that, upon the completion of his 
mission there he should proceed to Poland and bring mat- 
ters to a conclusion for the Eastland Merchants. He was 
given full powers, and he was supplied with the draft 
of the treaty which Rogers had drawn up, with the apostils 
of the Elbingers added thereto and with the "formula" 
which had been drawn up on the basis of that draft. 
Like Rogers, his power was limited by the proviso that if 
any new matter came up, he was to refer it to the home 
government for further advice. Finally he was assured 
that the merchants would liberally contribute toward de- 
fraying the expenses incurred by him on their behalf, as 
well as toward compensating him for his labors. 97 

As soon as his mission was accomplished in Denmark 
he set out overland for Elbing and arrived there August 
13, 1583. 98 There he found awaiting him his formal in- 
structions and other necessary documents, the queen's let- 
ters to Stephan and to the town. 99 

The outlook now was fairly dubious. The Elbingers 
who had begun to despair of a successful issue, now took 
heart at Herbert's arrival. 100 But Herbert, himself, was 
not so sanguine in his hopes. On his way to Elbing he 
had stopped over in Dantzig for a few days and while 
there he had had a conference with the lords of the town 
and he perceived "by the sly speche of the chefe Burgo- 
masters . . . that they make full accompt, that the 
king will graunt nothing to this Towne [Elbing] that 
may p 'iudice the rest of his Ports in this quartre. ' ' lot 

»7 S. P., Poland, I, No. 26. 
98 S. P., Poland, I, No. 27. 
»9 Ibid. 
ioo ibid. 
ioi Ibid. 



308 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

In spite of his doubts, however, he set to work with a will. 

The first matter at hand was to conclude with the town. 
This Herbert was able to accomplish in a few weeks. 102 
In the main the "formula" prepared in England was sat- 
isfactory to the Elbingers so that now there was really 
nothing to provoke dissension. The final agreement con- 
tained thirty- three provisions which are as follows : 103 
The first article established the "liberty of traffic." It 
declared the English merchants belonging to the Eastland 
Company free to come to Elbing and its port and terri- 
tory, to remain there as long as they wished, to buy and 
sell goods, and to depart again, taking their goods with 
them, doing all these things at their own choice and con- 
venience, precisely as if they were citizens of Elbing. 
Going along with this grant came the injunction that all 
goods imported by the English had to be brought to the 
city and exposed there in the market place for sale before 
they could be stored in ware-houses awaiting private sale 
or exported to other places. It was prohibited to ship di- 
rectly to any other place in the East Countries or to 
transfer goods from one ship to another with that in- 
tention. 

Next followed an article providing for the renting of 
an "ample and spacious" house which the English were 
to have for a definite sum paid annually. This they might 
occupy without any increase of price until a building 
could be erected by the Company upon land to be given 
them by the city for that purpose. In their "residence" 
the merchants were privileged to worship according to 
the dictates of the English Church. In case of death, the 
churches and churchyards were open to them for burial. 

Turning now from that somewhat lugubrious provision 
came one of more practical importance for the develop- 

102 Cottonian, Galba, D XIII, ff. 42-45. 

103 Cottonian, Galba, D XIII, ff. 60-62. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 309 

ment of trade. The English were given the right of elec- 
tion of the officials of the Company, the elections to take 
place annually or at any other time that occasion might 
demand. It was required, however, that the governor take 
an oath to the Elbing magistrates that neither he nor his 
assistants would do anything to the " prejudice or dam- 
age" of the town. The governor was to have jurisdiction 
over all cases arising between two Englishmen, except those 
in which the public peace was disturbed. In those cases, 
as in all grave and serious affairs, the magistrates of the 
city were to take cognizance. There was a grant of priv- 
ilege to the governor and assistants of formulating regu- 
lations to discipline the Englishmen to honesty of life as 
long as they remained in office. On the other hand before 
making rules or changing the existing ones on the subject 
of merchandise, these officials were compelled to obtain 
the consent of the Elbing authorities. The English were 
to be free to hold meetings and courts in their house at 
any time, providing they undertook nothing to the detri- 
ment of the town. 

The legal rights of the English were very definitely 
fixed. As has been said before, over all civil cases arising 
among the English, the governor of the Society was to 
have jurisdiction; if an Englishman wished to bring suit 
against a citizen or a stranger, he might do this in the 
court of a magistrate of the city; if a citizen or stranger 
wished to bring suit against an Englishman, he could 
choose between the governor's court or that of a local 
magistrate. In this latter case, no appeal from the de- 
cision of the governor was allowed. In case of the in- 
solvency of an Englishman, a report had first to be made 
to the deputy of the Company and opportunity given for 
an amicable agreement. If this failed the debtor was 
to be incarcerated in the prison used for detaining insol- 
vent Elbingers, or otherwise proceeded against according 



310 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

to the common law regarding bankrupts. In all civil cases 
it was permitted to act through, a proxy; the defendant in 
a criminal case, however, had to appear in court. It was 
permitted, also, to the English to produce witnesses and 
give testimony. All simple cases were to be terminated 
within forty days after the initial litigation. More seri- 
ous matters were to be treated in the regular order of 
trials. Swift justice was to be meted out to any citizen 
or any stranger who in any way harmed an Englishman; 
likewise the governor was to see that any Englishman 
injuring citizens or strangers in Elbing, should be sim- 
ilarly punished. The English were to have the right of 
the recovery of stolen goods, provided the owner paid the 
expenses of the suit. The Company w^as to have the use 
of the town prison in which to place refractory members, 
though the magistrates were to be apprised each time before 
a person was committed. 

Having established the legal status of the Society in 
Elbing, the privilege next provided for certain common- 
place but none the less essential matters. Englishmen 
might lease buildings "as well public, as private," houses, 
shops, granaries and the like. In regard to the purchase 
of food and drink, they were to be subject only to such 
rules as applied to Elbingers. Next followed articles hav- 
ing to do with the buying and selling of merchandise. In 
general Englishmen were allowed to purchase any kind 
of goods in Elbing and export the same. If, however, 
a "pater familias" intervened in the bargain and wished 
to purchase the goods in question, especially if these were 
articles of domestic use, these were to be turned over to 
him without any increase in price. If for any reason Eng- 
lishmen were not able to export the goods which they had 
purchased in Elbing, they were to be allowed to resell 
these goods at wholesale. In regard to cloth there was a 
special provision to the effect that it was to be sold only 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 311 

by the piece, an exception being made, though, of the very 
expensive kinds, which might be sold by the ell. 

Leaving the question of merchandise, the privilege then 
took up the question of labor. The Society and the town 
jointly were to fix the price to be paid to laborers for 
loading and unloading vessels. If the Elbingers wished to 
undertake the work, they were to be given the first oppor- 
tunity; if they refused, then the English might employ 
anybody they chose. The various petty officials of the 
town, weighers, measurers, masters of the crane, testors, 
etc., were to be chosen with the mutual consent of the 
Senate and! the deputies of the Society. They were 
to take 8jo. oath of loyalty to both. In case they displayed 
negligence or want of good faith, they were to be held 
responsible for any damage that might occur through their 
negligence. 

The last articles of the privilege treated a variety of 
subjects. Each Englishman was permitted to entertain as 
many visitors in his home as were permitted to citizens. 
He was allowed to dispose of his belongings by will 
according to the laws of England; with the reservation, 
however, that if he had come into possession of any- 
thing at Elbing either through a dowry or by inheritance, 
for these things he was to be governed by the local 
laws. The Society was to have the custody of the goods 
of a deceased member. Should an Englishman wish to 
leave the Society and become a citizen of Elbing, he Would 
be accepted by the Elbingers upon his producing evidence 
of good character and of his dismissal from the Society. 
Thereafter he might hold real estate. Should an English- 
man acquire property through the foreclosure of a mort- 
gage, he was permitted to sell this in accordance with the 
prescriptions of the Civil Law on the subject. The Eng- 
lish were to be free from all exactions put upon the cit- 
izens by the. Senate. 



312 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

At last came an article which had directly in view the 
interest of the Elbingers. By it they were granted priv- 
ileges in England similar to those of the English in El- 
bing. Then followed an article providing for the denial 
by Elbingers of rights and privileges to dishonest Eng- 
lishmen and the banishment of any such persons 
who might have acquired citizen rights; on the other 
hand any Elbingers who were "perfidious" or spoke 
ill of the city for this grant of privilege were to be cut 
off in England from participation in the benefits of the 
privilege. The final clause laid down the rule that should 
any case arise through the ambiguity of any clause in this 
agreement, its interpretation should be in accordance with 
the rule of equity set forth in the Civil Law; nor should 
the validity of the whole privilege be questioned on ac- 
count of doubts which might arise in regard to particular 
stipulations. 

After the town and the Company were brought to an 
agreement in the foregoing contract, there was still left 
to Herbert the increasingly difficult and delicate task of 
securing the King's sanction to it. Furthermore the King 
was to be sought to exempt the English merchants from 
the toll which he had established at Elbing and to which 
the Dantzigers had yielded. For almost a year the mat- 
ter dragged. From the time of Herbert's arrival until 
Christmas of 1583 the King was inaccessible to him. 104 His 
Majesty was engaged in an extended trip. 105 Upon his 
return from that, the affair was brought to his attention 
and on February 9, 1584, he appointed a commission to 
look into the whole ' ' cause. ' ' 106 Among the appointees to 
this body, was the Lord Treasurer whose preoccupation 
with other affairs prevented his attendance upon the com- 

104 s. P., Poland, I, No. 28. 

105 ibid. 

loe Cottonian, Galba, D XIII, ff. 48b-49. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 313 

mission, and thereby obstructed the whole negotiation. 101 
So matters stood until May. Then the Dantzigers, ever 
anxious to thwart the action of the Elbingers with the 
English, served the city with a royal prohibitory mandate 
"that no straungers should haue anie handlinge in village 
Towne or Citie, Contrarie to the Constitutions privileges 
and customes of this land of Pruse. ' ' 108 Immediately 
Herbert had a conference with the Elbing Senators and 
they decided to send to the King forthwith for his inter- 
pretation of the mandate and also to request him to em- 
power the commission which he had appointed, to pro- 
ceed without the presence of the Lord Treasurer. 109 Upon 
the return of the messenger, for whose journey a month's 
time was required, the Elbingers were reassured. 110 The 
king had intended to stop only wandering peddlers who 
tried to cheat the royal customs and the tolls of the nobil- 
ity; he had not meant in any way to curtail the privileges 
of the Elbingers. 111 In regard to the second request, he 
was quite willing for the commission to begin its work 
immediately. 112 

At last by the middle of the summer 1584 the serious 
consideration of the treaty began. The commission, com- 
posed of Peter Costhca, Bishop of Culmen, Peter of Pol- 
uticze, Palatine of Briesten, Stephan Grudzinski, Castellan 
of Nakle, and Stanislaus Costhca, Vice- Chamberlain of 
Culmen, 113 "Peeres of the Land of rare learninge, great 
experience and Judgm 1 " 114 came to Elbing in July to in- 

107 s. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, August^ 1584. 

108 Ibid. 

109 Ibid. 
no Ibid. 
in Ibid. 
112 Ibid. 

H3 Cottonian, Galba, D XIII, f. 67b. John Dulski, originally ap- 
pointed, did not come to Elbing. 

11 4 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsingham, 
August*^ 1584. 



314 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

vestigate the whole subject. On the 20th they received 
Herbert and the representatives of Elbing. 115 The next 
day they heard the deputies from Dantzig who presented 
every possible argument against permitting the English 
to gain permanent residence at Elbing. 116 To their at- 
tacks Herbert was permitted to make answer, though the 
more scurrilous ones he chose to ignore. 117 On the 25th the 
commission delivered to Herbert the opinion of the members 
concerning each article of the agreement and with that 
their work ended. They had been appointed only to in- 
vestigate. When both sides of the question had been 
heard and a report made to send to the King, the work 
of the commission was over. Nevertheless at Herbert's ur- 
gent request he was permitted to speak and write further 
in refutation of the Dantzigers' arguments. On the 27th 
the conference was concluded. 118 

At this meeting were brought to light the possible points 
of objection which the King might have to the privileges 
accorded by the Elbingers. First it was contrary to the 
"perpetual pacts and privileges" of Prussia for the King 
to confine any nation that traded to his countries to any 
one town. 119 Then there was the much disputed point in 
regard to permitting trade of stranger with stranger. The 
Dantzigers maintained that such transactions were unlaw- 
ful. Finally there was the point in regard to the King's 
tolls at the port, so lately conceded by Dantzig. The com- 

H5 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, August %4, 1584. 

lie Ibid.; Cottonian, Galba D XIII, ff. 51-54. Herbert wrote of 
the Dantzigers, "They make themselues professed enymies to this 
cause and force (sic) not what charges they be at to hinder thesame, 
eyther, in expences or Rewardes, wherein they far surpasse this 
Towne and o r Society." 

117 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, August y i4 , 1584; Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 65. 

us S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, August y 14: , 1584. "9 Ibid. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 315 

missioners thought the first point might be met by having 
the Queen "bynd her subiects to w l towne or place she 
would." 120 They apprehended little difficulty in securing 
royal sanction for free trade, seeing "that it was for the 
good of all the nobilitie, cytizens and Inhabitantes of 
Poland. ' ' 121 Lastly they could express no opinion on the 
question of immunity from tolls, since that rested entirely 
with the King. 122 But everybody realized that the action 
of the Dantzigers had made it "harde for them of Elbing 
to obteine Exemption. ' ' 123 The King, always in need of 
funds, could hardly be expected to make a free gift to 
the English and place them in a position more advan- 
tageous than that of his own subjects. 

This conference meant more to the English cause than 
the mere investigation and argument carried on at El- 
bing. It also enabled Herbert to win over these commis- 
sioners to his side. They seem to have been very much 
pleased with his personality and they treated him with 
the utmost of cordiality and friendliness. Before leaving 
Elbing they promised him that should the matter come 
up before the Estates they would use their influence "to 
f urder this action ... to the vttermost they may. ' ' 124 
In view of their rank and prestige, this was no inconsid- 
erable asset for the English. 

Very shortly after this the King seems to have made 
up his mind to let the final decision of the matter rest 
with the Estates. His chamberlain told Herbert that His 
Majesty "for the factions lately growen emong his nobil- 
itie wolde not attempt any thing of importaunce to himself ; 

12 ° S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, August ^.4, 1584. 

121 Ibid. 

122 ibid. 

123 lUd. 

i 2 * Ibid. Herbert apparently knew how to win favor. He wrote : 
"I gave them entretayment at my lodging and at Seabord, muche to 
their liking and contentment." 



316 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

but wolde refer all to the generall assemblie. ' ' 125 Ac- 
cordingly the first step to be taken was to submit the 
question to a convocation of the nobility which had been 
called to meet at Lublin, August 20th. This assembly of 
the magnates was preliminary to the meeting of the larger 
body. Here it was decided what matters should come up 
for debate in the general assembly. When these points 
were determined upon they were then referred to the local 
assemblies for their consideration and in order that they 
might return members instructed how to vote in the Es- 
tates General. 126 It was now decided at Lublin that the 
English question should be one of four to be debated in 
the Estates, called to meet at Warsaw, January 15. 1585. 127 
Stephan, it seems, was by no means satisfied with the 
services of the commission which had visited Elbing. He 
was offended with the commissioners ' ' for that they yelded 
not up their opinions. ' ' 128 In order, perhaps, to get first- 
hand information and also to give the English a fair hear- 
ing, he let it be known that he would grant Herbert and 
the deputies of Elbing an audience at Lublin. 129 They 
responded to the King's invitation with alacrity. On 
August 26th, ''being Sondaie, after Service and Sermon, 
at XI of the clok" Herbert had an open audience. 130 
There in the presence of the King and a large company 
of nobles he set forth the case in elaborate detail; and as 
he had been told beforehand by the Lord High Marshal 
that new commissioners "might be chosen, oute of the 
bodie of the nobilitie there assembled" he directed his 

125 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6, Herbert to Walsingham, No- 
vember % 6 , 1584. 

126 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, November %g, 1584. 

127 Ibid. 

128 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

129 Ibid. 

130 Ibid. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 317 

speech ' ' to that end. ' ' 131 He took up all these points in 
' ' such order, ' ' he wrote to Walsingham, ' ' as the tyme and 
my small skill did give me leave. ' ' 132 When he had fin- 
ished the King called his chancellor to him, "and con- 
ferred long with him. ' ' 133 Then the chancellor replied 
to Herbert's speech. The King, he said, was sorry for 
the long delays but "urgent affaires had bene cause 
thereof" and now owing to the many complications in- 
volved he had determined to appoint a new commission, 
"who should further debate of, and p'use the cause," and 
that thereupon Herbert should have "further answer and 
such as should be to hir Ma ts contentment. ' ' 134 

A few days later the King fulfilled his promise and 
appointed the commission which was to sit immediately 
at Levartow, a town in Lithuania, near Lublin. These 
commissioners, of whom Nicholas Firley was the most 
prominent, were "noblemen of birth, honored for their 
authoritie, and allotted to great estate by reason of their 
wisdome and experience. ' ' 135 More important than their 
learning perhaps, from a practical point of view, was the 
fact that they were men ' ' well aff ectioned to the cause. ' ' 13<J 

However, their instructions allowed them little latitude 
to aid the English. In the first place, they were not em- 
powered to conclude anything, since that was to be left 
to the general assembly. They were apparently to dis- 
courage the English from asking for anything obviously 
impossible to grant. They were "to have due considera- 
tion of the late libertie, graunted by the king, to the El- 
bingers, touching the frer handling between straunger and 
straunger, with proviso and condition, that the reven[ue] 

isi Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

132 ibid. 

133 Ibid. 

134 Ibid. 

135 Ibid. 

136 Ibid. 



318 TKADE IN THE BALTIC 

of the Crowne might not therby any wies be deminished 
and so carefullie that the English nation might be planted., 
upon equal conditions, without any prejudice of the lawes 
of the lande." 137 

The ten days (August 21 to September 1) 13S spent by 
the commissioners at Levartow were crowded with activity. 
Deputies from Dantzig and from Elbing were heard in 
defense of their respective positions; petitions were re- 
ceived and considered; a39 letters passed back and forth to 
and from the king ; numerous consultations were held upon 
the points in dispute. Herbert relates that one day he 
was summoned to appear ' ' by six of the clock in the morn- 
ing" and that he remained with the commissioners until 
night. 140 

Of the many points that came up for discussion and dis- 
pute, none apparently was so difficult of adjustment as 
that in regard to the King's toll at the port. For some 
reason the merchants seemed obsessed with the desire for 
exemption from it. 141 The King, as has been seen, had 
no reason to grant it and had instructed the commissioners 
to refuse it. Herbert himself could see no grounds upon 
which the English or the Elbingers could claim this ex- 
emption. However he held out for it until the last moment. 
Finally the commissioners were on the point of leaving 
Levartow, their carriages were in readiness for departure, 
but they delayed long enough to come to Herbert's lodging 
and there made one last appeal for the concession of this 

137 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

138 lUd. 

i39j&id.; S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, copy of a peti- 
tion of the Elbingers to the king. 

1*0 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

i4i An obsession with which Herbert had little patience. He con- 
sidered it too small a matter, "not above on per cents," over which 
to haggle. S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to 
Walsingham, August % S} 1584. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 319 

point. 142 Then with the advice of Mr. Salkins, the mer- 
chant, he yielded. 143 At the same time he affixed the con- 
ditions that it should be levied upon all persons sailing 
from the port of Elbing and that there should be no in- 
crease of it either directly by raising it or indirectly 
through the high appraisement of goods. 144 Several rea- 
sons, Herbert related to Walsingham, induced him to yield 
this point. 145 He had been assured by the nobility at 
Lublin "that withoute yelding to that, nothing wolde be 
assented to " ; 146 an impression which seems to have pre- 
vailed with the Elbingers also, who urged him to com- 
promise. Should the negotiation fail, they would be "un- 
done," not only because of the humiliation of having 
failed but also because of the large sums which they had 
expended. 147 More than that, Herbert felt that if the Eng- 
lish merchants "miss of their settling here now," they 
1 ' are never like to obtein it hereafter. ' ' 148 It would be 
very mortifying to the English "to be enforced by the 
sinister dealings of the Dansckers, to repaire to theim 
ageinst their willes. ' ' 149 

A second point upon which the commissioners insisted, 
came up in connection with the reciprocity clause in the 
privilege. The Poles were not satisfied to have the re- 
ciprocal privileges limited to Elbingers, but asked that 
all the King's subjects be permitted to export cloths "upon 
English custome." 150 With this notion Herbert had no 
sympathy. To him this seemed a foible of the nobility who 
"regarde but the outeward shewe of the demaunde, and 

I" Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

143 Ibid.; Cottonian, Nero B II, f. 161. 

144 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

145 lUd. 

146 i bid. 

147 ibid. 

148 Ibid. 
14» Ibid. 
iso ibid. 



320 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

weigh not the just cause of the thing. ' ' 151 But should he 
have been disposed to consider this, his instructions would 
have forbade his conceding it. Accordingly he labored 
with the commissioners so earnestly that they promised 
to use their influence to persuade the King to withdraw 
the demand. 152 

On September 1 the commissioners left Levartow with 
the understanding that, since they were only to investigate 
the case and had no authority to conclude anything, they 
would choose one of their number to report their findings 
to the king il w° h could not well be done under the space 
of five weekes. ' ' 153 For this office the commissioners se- 
lected the Castellan of Lublin. Herbert was then to send 
a messenger "to attend on" the spokesman. 154 

Tha next task that confronted Herbert was the cam- 
paign to bring over the nobility to favor the English 
cause. On their way back from Levartow to Elbing, he 
and the burgomaster of Elbing paid a visit to the Arch- 
bishop of Gnesne, the ' ' primus Poloniae Princeps, ' ' 155 
with whom they conferred for three days. Since the arch- 
bishop "ever had bene an especiall favorer" of the Eng- 
lish, it was not a difficult matter to secure his active co- 
operation. 156 He immediately wrote letters to the King and 
his chief officials in which he recommended the affair. 157 
Since he had "great authoritie" in the assembly as well 
as at court, he was an ally of the first magnitude. 158 But 
Herbert did not cease his labors at this point. Upon his 

isi Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

152 lUd. 

153 lUd. 

is* Ibid.; S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Vese- 
linius, Stepban's Chamberlain, September 11, 1584. 

155 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6.; Nero B II, f. 161. 

156 Ibid. 

157 Ibid.; S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, copies of the 
Archibishop's letters, dated, September 11, 1584. 

iss Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 321 

return to Elbing he wrote home to Walsingham and he 
urged that the cause be vigorously "pursued" by the home 
government. He advised that new letters be sent from 
Her Majesty "to the king particularlie and to the States 
in generally " from the Privy Council to the members of 
the two commissions which had considered the cause, 
from the Lord Chancellor of England to the Lord Chan- 
cellor of Poland, from the Archbishop of Canterbury to 
the Archbishop of Gnesne "with a copie of Lindwood 
upon the constitutions provinciall of Canterbury; which 
he praied me to procure him," from the Lord Treasurer 
of England to the Lord Treasurer of "Littow," from the 
Earl of Leicester or the Lord Chamberlain to Stephan's 
Lord Chamberlain and finally from Walsingham to Baran- 
owkie, the Polish chief secretary. 159 Herbert himself had 
written to or conferred with all of these persons. 160 

As further preparation for the obtaining of a favorable 
decision from the general assembly, Herbert wrote to 
Walsingham and requested him "to deale effectually with 
the Society, that ther be speedie order set, to haue monie 
taken vp to supplie the charges it standeth the Societies 
and oure nation much vpon to haue this wiage performed 
with much more credit and estimation then any of the 
former." 161 

Following Herbert's suggestion in regard to sending let- 
ters, Walsingham saw to it that letters were addressed 
in the Queen's name to the king, to the nobility, to the 
Elector of Brandenburg and others whose aid was re- 

159 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 6. 

i«o S. P., Poland, I, documents unnumbered, Herbert to Veselinius, 
Stephan's Chamberlain, September 11, 1584, with the reply of the 
Chamberlain, September 25, 1584, also Herbert to Baranowski, 
Stephan's chief secretary, September 11, 1584, with Baranowski's 
reply, September 25, 1584. 

i«i S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, November % 8 , 1584. 



322 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

quested in the furtherance of the cause. 162 In regard to 
the sending of funds, it was thought in England that the 
Elbingers should aid in the expenses of the trip to War- 
saw. The Queen's letter to that city definitely set forth 
such a request. 163 Owing, no doubt, to the difficulty of 
communication between Elbing and England, these letters 
did not reach their destination until after the general 
assembly had been in session for some weeks. 

Herbert, who had also asked Walsingham for instruc- 
tions in regard to his course at Warsaw, had foreseen the 
likelihood of their not reaching him before his departure. 
Accordingly, in order to have some guide for his policy 
there he had "p'suaded w th the Towne and Deputy 
and Assistants here to have certen colloquies what I 
might do, if further advice came not from yo H. r Therein 
we spent two monethes and more, and w th much Difficultye 
have agreed of all points and articles " 16 * . . . That 
his position as mediator was no enviable one, can be seen 
from his complaint: "I had much difficulty to agre the 
Towne deputies and the Assistants the Assistants being 
bent to have all liberties here that might any way further 
their Comodityes, the deputies of the Towne having re- 
gard to the Colloquie at Leuartow cold hardly be brought 
to assent to altre the same, as untill this veary mornyng 
the Articles were not signed. Therefore I am to crave 
pardon at y r hands, for I fynd hit hard to please a multi- 
tude, that will not respect the dyversity betwene on nacn 
and another. ' ' 165 

On January 7, 1585, Herbert set out for Warsaw 166 
where he expected to meet the deputy and assistants of 
the Company who were to come there from a fair which 

ie2 Cottonian, Galba D XII, ff. 78-80; Nero B II, f. 164. 

163 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 39. 

164 Cottonian, Vespasian F XII, f. 145. 

165 lUd. 

166 lUd. 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 323 

they were visiting in the vicinity. There they waited for 
nearly two months before they attained the object of their 
quest. This delay was not caused by any uncertainty on 
the part of the assembly as to the action it would take, 
but merely through the press of businesss. All the local 
assemblies of the nobility had favored the plan. 167 At 
last on March 5, 1585, the Estates declared their approval 
by endorsing the King's grant of free trade made at the 
beginning of his reign. 168 

It is not difficult to see why the nobility displayed such 
seeming generosity to the English. This was a measure 
as much to their interest as to that of the subjects of 
Elizabeth. "When Herbert marveled at the extraordinary 
courtesy extended to him and wrote that "Truly her 
Ma te is much beholding to the nobility" 169 he innocently 
ascribed to these gentlemen motives which probably played 
little part in their actions. It is far more likely that they 
were considering how opportune were these overtures of 
the English who would deliver them from the commercial 
tyranny of the Dantzigers. An open market where com- 
petition could have free play would mean as much to them 
as it would mean to the English. 

As soon as the general assembly had confirmed the grant 
of free trade, Herbert requested the King to send to the 
chancery and have a copy of the colloquies of Levartow 170 
made and sealed and presented to him. 171 These, with 
the agreement made with the Elbingers, constituted the 
basis upon which the English commercial rights were to 
rest thereafter. 

167 Cottonian, Vespasian F XII, f. 145. 

168 g. p., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Stephan, 
March 6, 1585. 

169 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
ham, November %g, 1584. 

170 Cottonian, Galba D XIII, f. 73. 

i7i S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Stephan, 
March 6, 1585. 



324 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

There remained still one more duty to be performed 
before Herbert could return to England. This was a visit 
to the Duke of Prussia. It will be remembered that Dr. 
Kogers had been instructed to see him, though there was 
no specified request to be made other than for his good 
will. Neither Rogers nor Herbert up to this time had 
found opportunity to carry out that injunction. But now 
Herbert hastened to seek out the duke and solicit his 
favor for the merchants. This was of considerable prac- 
tical importance since the duke controlled the Pillauer 
Tief and levied a tax there upon all ships passing through. 
The promise was now obtained of an unimpeded traffic 
upon the payment of the customary dues. 172 

After making on May 11, 1585, a more explicit, though 
no more extensive grant of privileges to the Elbingers in 
England, Herbert's work was at last accomplished. 173 He 
had spent almost two years of conscientious effort to that 
end and his success was complete. It is true he had not 
obtained for the merchants all for which they had asked, 
but he had obtained all that they could, in reason, have 
expected. And through it all, he preserved a dignified, 
modest demeanor worthy of the gentleman that he was. 
By the middle of the summer he had returned to the Eng- 
land for which he so longed during his protracted ab- 
sence. 174 

i"2 Cottonian, Nero B II, f. 166; Behring, p. 5. 

173 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, endorsed "Sr Jh. 
Herberts Priuiledge to Elbinge." 

i" 4 S. P., Poland, I, document unnumbered, Herbert to Walsing- 
bam, August j ^.4, 1584: "To morow I must take my journey, god 
send me a spedy dispatch, and that I may once returne to England 
egaine. I here yo h: hath a determynacon to send me to demark 
and so to prolong my repaire home. Truly yf it so happen I feare 
me I shall never se yo h: ageine. The extremyty of the wintre is 
suche, as I shall hardly be able to broke hit. Therefore let me in- 
treat yo h: thowghe this acton take not place at Lublin, and p'haps 
may be referred to the generall states, that wilbe held at Christmas, 



THE ENGLISH AT ELBING 325 

Once established at Elbing, the English remained there 
for almost half a century. During the later years of 
Elizabeth's reign, however, their stay there was repeatedly 
jeopardized by the inimical maneuvers of the Dantzigers 
and others, enemies of the English. But at each encounter 
the Elizabethan diplomats proved equal to the occasion 
and the mercantile interest was conserved. Not only the 
English but the Elbingers had reason to take pains to 
overcome the machinations against the trade, for, says 
Camden, "Elbing . . . oweth a great part of its 
Beauty and Splendour, and the great Resort of People 
to it, to the Commerce and Trade of the English. ' * 175 

that I may have librety to repaire home afore the wintre. For 
over and besides that I distrust myne owne helth and know myne 
ability not to be able to beare the charges, I know it is not con- 
venyent that so meane a p'sonage so meanely accompagned as I 
am like to be, shold represent the place I do, in so great an assem- 
bly." 

175 Camden, p. 539, annals for the years 1597-8. 



CONCLUSION 

In looking back over the field it appears that in the 
latter half of the sixteenth century English trade to East- 
land developed such volume and importance as it had 
never attained before. Difficulties were met and overcome, 
or disregarded. The fact that the voyage was dangerous, 
that pirates infested the seas, that the Hanse offered stub- 
born opposition and keen competition — all of these com- 
bined could not undermine or destroy the trade. The 
goods of Eastland were too necessary to the English nation 
and Eastland was too good a market for English manu- 
facturers for the merchants to allow these obstacles to 
hamper their activity. By persevering in their trade, even 
though conditions were often discouraging, by making the 
most of each opening and advantage, by using every means 
in their power, both at home and abroad, the Eastland 
merchants were at last rewarded with a good measure of 
success. By the end of the century they were carrying 
on a trade which was comparable in many respects to that 
of the Merchant Adventurers. 

The rise of a new problem led to a new phase of devel- 
opment. In 1578 it fell to the lot of the Eastland mer- 
chants to aid in the indemnification of some Danes who had 
been the victims of the depredations of English pirates. 
With the advent of new difficulties came the effort to meet 
them the most effectively. To do this it seemed necessary 
and desirable to the men engaged in that traffic that they 
should organize a commercial company to carry on a regu- 
lated trade. The government was not averse to this idea 
and after some negotiation a charter was granted to the 
merchants. By this instrument the new Company was en- 
dowed with large powers and privileges which gave it the 

326 



CONCLUSION 327 

monopoly and control of the Baltic trade, so far as Eng- 
lishmen were concerned in it. 

In the exercise of these powers the organization came in 
contact with the government in various ways. The prob- 
lem of piracy which had precipitated the formation of the 
Company continued to bring it constantly in touch with the 
government. Although the Company did not relieve the 
government of this embarrassment, as it was hoped that it 
would, at certain critical times it did help to tide over a 
breach with Denmark by the advancing of money to meet 
the claims of the Danes. The establishment and mainte- 
nance of the monopoly led the Company to enlist the aid 
of the government in its affairs. In addition to this the 
company looked to the government for aid in securing 
privileges abroad and for obtaining redress for injuries 
done them by foreign states. This aid, however, was con- 
fined to the use of prestige and influence, for the Company 
usually paid the actual expenses of the agents or embas- 
sies sent to negotiate on these questions. 

Following close upon the heels of organization came the 
settling of the English merchants at Elbing. In this as 
in so many other things they showed their ability to turn 
what might seem to be a misfortune into an advantage. 
Scarcely had Dantzig turned them out before they grasped 
the drift of Polish politics and the significance for them 
of the enmity of the Elbingers for the Dantzigers. Mak- 
ing good use of this factor in the situation they were able 
to establish themselves at Elbing in a far more favorable 
position than they had ever enjoyed at Dantzig. Al- 
though the attainment of formal recognition, by the King 
and Estates of Poland, of their newly acquired privileges, 
involved a tedious and expensive process, they did not wa- 
ver. In consequence, they continued to enjoy these privi- 
leges for half a century. 

In general the development which took place in the East- 



328 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

land trade is characteristic of that of all English trade un- 
der Elizabeth. In many cases the same merchants who 
were pushing out for trade into other portions of Ger- 
many, Russia and the Levant were engaged in it. The 
Eastland trade further illustrates how eager were the 
Elizabethan merchants for the advancement of their own 
and their country's economic well-being and how success- 
ful they were in overtaking and in some cases outstripping 
their competitors in the race for economic power. 



APPENDIX 

The merchants named in the charter of the Eastland Company. 
Patent Roll, 21 Elizabeth, part 11, membrane 21 i are ". . . . 
Edwarde Osborne Thomas Pullyson 2 George Barne George Bonde 3 
Aldermen of our said Cittye of London Cristofer Hoddesdon Thomas 
Wylford Roberte Hilson Wylliam Cokayne Hughe Offley Thomas 
Allen Rychard Gourney * Edmonde Boldro John and Henrye Isham of 
our said Cittye of London mercers Richard Staper John Burnell 
Roger Watson thelder Wyllyam Salkyns 5 John Bodleigh 6 thelder 
Wyllyam Bonde Margarette Bonde wydowe Nicholas Pierson Thomas 
Russell Roger Floide ? Willyam Watson draper John Langton John 
Collett Peter Collett Stephen Collett Blase Freman John Howgh « 
Robert Maiott Richard Wyllys 9 Edmonde Burlace Wyllyam Tower- 
son John Foxall Hugh Gold Wyllyam Barker Jerome Bele Godfry 
Wylson io Thomas Bramley George Holmes Thomas Cambell Augus- 
tyne Fulkes Richard Lewis armerer Hugh More n Jervys Symondes 
Robert Coley 12 Anthonye Stanlack James Newman Frauncys 
Clerke 1 3 Thomas Tenycar i* Wyllyam Helman Robert Walton Roberte 
Strete Humfrey Lee George Rookes Henrye Walton John Taylor 1 5 
Thomas Cokayne i« John Bodligh the yonger Nicholas Sympson 
Thomas Gurney 1 7 Bryan Carmarden and Thomas Slatter . . ." 

1 A copy of the charter is in S. P., Dom., Eliz. 131, No. 70. Some of 
the names are there spelled differently. Such differences are noted 
below. 



2 S. P., 


Pullison. 


8 S. P., 


Bond. 


4 S. P., 


Gorney. 


B S. P., 


Salkins. 


•S. P., 


Bodligh. 


7 S. P., 


Fludd. 


8 S. P., 


Howghe. 


8 S. P., 


Willis. 


10 S. P. 


, Wilson. 


11 S. P. 


, Moore. 


12 S. P. 


, Coly. 


13 S. P. 


, Clarke. 


14 S. P. 


, Tynaker. 


16 S. P., 


, Tailor. 


18 S. P. 


, Cokayn. 


17 S. P. 


, Gorney. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

Primary Sources. 

The MSS. sources consulted in the preparation of this 
monograph are those found in the Record Office, the British 
Museum, the Guildhall at London, and the collection of the 
Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield House. The materials 
at the Record Office that proved of most value were those 
classified in the State Papers, Poland. The first paper in 
Bundle I bears the date 1578. Although the Calendar of 
State Papers, Foreign, now extends through the year 1582, 
so far the Polish papers have not been included. In mak- 
ing references to these documents it has been necessary 
to refer to them by number since they have not as yet 
been bound nor the folios marked. The State Papers, 
Domestic, yielded much material that is only suggested by 
the brief entries in the calendar. At the British Museum 
the Lansdowne, the Cottonian, the Harleian, the Sloane, 
and the Royal Collections all yielded something of value. 
The Cottonian proved the richest field for research. The 
records at the Guildhall contained many suggestive entries. 
This was particularly true of the Repertories. The gen- 
erous excerpts given by the Historical MSS. Commission 
of the MSS. at Hatfield House were adequate in most in- 
stances, though in one or two cases an examination of the 
originals brought to light further material of importance 
for this study. 

Of the sources that have found their way into print the 
Acts of the Privy Council, New Series, London, 1890 — , 
furnished information of the greatest value. 

The Calendars of State Papers, Domestic, for the period 
furnish many suggestive entries but the fact that in many 
cases important documents are dismissed in a sentence 
renders them much less useful than they might otherwise 
have been. 

The Calendars of State Papers, Foreign, were very good 
for the period they cover. Liberal paraphrases of the 
documents and numerous direct quotations make them of 
special value. However as has been said the series at 
present ends with the year 1582. 

The Calendars of State Papers, Spanish, Venetian, and 
Colonial, East Indies, afford a little material. 

The Forty-fifth and Forty-seventh Reports of the Deputy 
Keeper of the Public Records in the appendices contain re- 
331 



332 TRADE IN THE BALTIC 

ports on the archives of Denmark and on the libraries of 
Sweden by Rev. William Dunn Macray. The documents 
calendared there were often very illuminating. 

The Reports of the Historical MSS. Commission, particu- 
larly the reports of the Hatfield House MSS., proved of 
some value. 

Rymer, Foedera, Conventiones, Literae et cujuscunque 
generis Acta Publica inter Reges Angliae. Hagae Comitie 
Edition, 1742. 

The Acts and Ordinances of the Eastland Company, Lon- 
don, 1906. Edited by Maud Sellers and published by the 
Camden Society, 3d Series, XI. 

Hakluyt, Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, 
and Discoveries of the English Nation. 12 vols. Glasgow, 
1903-1905. 

Wheeler, A Treatise of Commerce, London, 1601. 

Camden, History of Elizabeth, Queen of England. Lon- 
don, 1688. 

Stow, Survey of London. Kingsford Edition, Oxford, 
1908. 

Behring, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Stadt Elbing, Elb- 
ing, 1900. In this book are printed the sources for the 
account of the relations between Dantzig and Elbing during 
the summer of 1577. 

Secondary Works. 

Allen, Histoire de Danemark depuis les temps le plus 
recules a nos jours — traduit d'apres la septieme edition 
danoise par E. Beauvois, 2 vol. Copenhagen 1878. 
This is the best general history of Denmark. It contains 
a bibliography of a hundred pages. 

Bain, Slavonic Europe, a Political History of Poland 
and Russia 1447 to 1796. Cambridge, 1908. 

Lingelbach, The Internal Organization of the Merchant 
Adventurers of England. Philadelphia, 1903. 

Burgon, Life and Letters of Sir Thomas Gresham. 2 
vol. London, 1839. 

Schanz, Englische Handelspolitik gegen Ende des Mittel- 
alters. 2 vol. Leipzig, 1881. 

Ehrenberg, England und Hamburg im Zeitalter der 
Konigin Elizabeth. Jena, 1896. 

Other books used for but a single reference in the thesis, 
are mentioned in the footnotes. 



INDEX 



Abdullah Khan, favorable to 
Muscovy Company, 148, 151, 
154, 156; privileges granted 
by, 151, 153; death of, 156. 

Adams, Clement, 8. 

Admiralty Court, verdict against 
interlopers, 52. 

Agents of Muscovy Company, 16, 
35; duties and powers of, 35, 
201; authority of, in Russia, 
75; instructions to, 93, 129; 
difficulties of, 133, 151, 159, 
171, 202; quarrels among, 155, 
159, 176; independent, for 
Persia, 200; achievement of, 
210. 

Alcock, Thomas, in service of 
Muscovy Company, 56; factor 
for Persia, 154; murder of, 
ibid. 

Allen, Thomas, sent to Dantzig 
to purchase ship-stores, 222- 
223; charter member of East- 
land Company, 260; commis- 
sioned to supply English navy 
with ship-stores, 284-285. 

Ambassadors, Venetian, in Eng- 
land, 12, 20, 24, 55; Swedish, 
in England, 55; Danish, in 
England, 58; from the East to 
Russia, 140; English, at the 
Porte, 223 ; Polish, in England, 
282, 284; English, in Russia, 
see Bowes, Fletcher, Horsey, 
Jenkinson, Randolph, and Syl- 
vester; English, in Poland, see 
Rogers and Herbert; Russian, 
in England, see Mikouleve, 
Napea, Pissemsky, and Sa- 
viena. 

Apprentices, 261, 263, 264. 



Ardebil, 149, 168, 176. 

Armada, Spanish, 91. 

Armenia, trading rights granted 
to Muscovy Company, 50. 

Armenians, rivalry of, 168, 205. 

Arrash, 149, 151, 168, 179. 

Artificers, English, sent to Rus- 
sia, 55, 59, 60. 

Assistants, of Eastland Company, 
265; of Muscovy Company, see 
Consuls and Assistants. 

Astrakhan, 84; Russian outpost, 
132; a mart town, 132, 203; 
besieged, 175, 188; proposed 
center of Persian trade, 184, 
185; English preparations at, 
206. 

Attorney General, the, 254, 272. 

Bacon, Francis, 227. 

Baku, factors at, 189, 190. 

Bannister, Thomas, 40, 43, 64, 84, 
222, 231, 238; factor for Per- 
sia, 175; granted trading 
privileges, 177; activities of, 
177, 178, 179; death of, 179. 

Barbarini, Raphael, overthrown 
by Muscovy Company, 164. 

Barnel, John, 299. 

Barnes, George, 26, 28, 30, 260. 

Bassendine, James, 104, 105, 106. 

Bathory, Stephan, chosen king of 
Poland, 287; quarrel with 
Dantzig, 288-289; Rogers sent 
to, 297 ; visited by Rogers, 301 ; 
conciliated by Dantzig, 305; 
appoints commission to deal 
with Herbert, 312; limitation 
of powers, 314; refers English 
question to the Estates, 315; 
displeased with Elbing com- 



333 



334 



INDEX 



mission, 316; gives Herbert an 

audience, ibid.; appoints new 

commission, 317; Estates sanc- 
tion action of, 323. 
Bekes, Caspar, 290. 
Bennet, Christopher, 79, 82. 
Bilbil, port of, 167, 176. 
Bildih, port of, 189. 
Bodleigh, John, 300. 
Bokhara, commercial position of, 

137, 138, 139; relations of, 

with Russia, 203. 
Boldero, Edmund, 250. 
Bona Speranza, The, 5, 10, 11, 12, 

17. 
Bond, George, 260. 
Bond, Margaret, 260. 
Bond, William, 260; private 

trade of, 39, 51, 162. 
Borthwick, Sir John, Edward 

"VT's agent in Dantzig, 231. 
Boston, freedom of Muscovy 

Company extended to certain 

merchants of, 38. 
Bowes, Sir Jerome, ambassador 

to Russia, 65, 85-88. 
Bowstaves, 230. 
Brian, Leonard, 36. 
Bristol, 226. 
Browne, Richard, 105. 
Burghley, Lord, 44, 72; member 

of Muscovy Company, 37, 116. 
Burnell, William, 225. 
Burrough, Stephen, expedition of, 

99-103, 130. 
Burrough, William, 70, 71, 106. 

Cables, imported from Russia, 
43, 71, 94. 

Cabot, Sebastian, 2-3; first gov- 
ernor of Muscovy Company, 3; 
draws up instructions for first 
voyage, 5-7; governor for life, 
16^ 26-27; visits the Search- 
thrift, 99. 

Cadiz voyage, 229. 

Calmady* Josias, 275-276. 



Caspian Sea, trading rights 
granted to Muscovy Company, 
50, 77. 

Cathay, search for route to, 99- 
111, 128, 129, 130, 142, 175, 
195; problem of route, 127, 
128, 131, 141; route closed, 
139; impracticable, 142, 196. 

Cavalcant, John Baptist, 231. 

Cecil, Robert, 40. 

Cecil, Sir William, see Burghley, 
Lord. 

Chancellor, Nicholas, 107. 

Chancellor, Richard, 5, 6, 8, 10, 
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 61, 
66, 128. 

Chapman, Lawrence, factor for 
Persia, 167, 168; in Ghilan, 
168 ; view of, or Persian trade, 
170, 199; death of, 179. 

Charter, of Muscovy Company, 
First, 16, 22-46 (passim), 129; 
Second, 23, 50, 53-54, 162, 163, 
166, 198; of Eastland Com- 
pany, 253; granted, 254; per- 
sons addressed by, 255; provi- 
sions of, 255-271. 

Cheinie, Richard, factor for 
Persia, 154; criticisms of, on 
Persian trade, 155; opinion of, 
on Ghilan, 160, 161. 

Cherry, Francis, 40, 66, 72, 95, 
285. 

Chester, William, 29. 

Clark, Edward, attempt of, to 
reach Georgia, 151; factor for 
Persia, 156. 

Clark, Roger, 228. 

Clinton, Lord Admiral, 5. 

Cloth, English, charter provision 
as to export by Muscovy Com- 
pany, 54; the chief English ex- 
port to Russia, 96; exported 
to Baltic countries, 230-233; 
white cloths to be exported, 
271 ; regulation as to sale of, 
in Elbing, 310-311. 



INDEX 



335 



Coinage rights in Russia, granted 
to Muscovy Company, 81. 

Cokayne, William, 250, 261, 300. 

Cologne, Senate of, accuses 
Elizabeth of aiding Russia, 57. 

Colston, William, 226. 

Confidentia, The, 5, 10, 12, 17. 

Consuls and Assistants of Mus- 
covy Company, reference in 
Cabot's instructions, 4; pro- 
vision in first charter, 25, 30. 

Contraband, exportation of, by 
Muscovy Company, 54-60. 

Cony-skins, export of, 233. 

Cooley, Robert, 300. 

Copperas, imported from Baltic 
countries, 230. 

Cordage, imported from Russia, 
43, 70-72, 94, 95. 

Costhca, Peter, 313. 

Costhca, Stanislaus, 313. 

Courts of the Eastland Company, 
266, 269. 

Custom, freedom from, granted 
to Muscovy Company, 74, 77, 
80, 89, 148, 153; half-custom 
granted, 91; payment of, 134, 
135, 136. 



Dale, Dr. Valentine, 232. 

Danish-Swedish War, 236-239. 

Dantzig, English merchants en- 
gage rope-spinners in, 222; con- 
trols Baltic trade, 222; ship- 
stores in, 223-224; grain from, 
225-226; voyage to, 234; vio- 
lates Treaty of Utrecht, 240; 
mistreats English merchants, 
240-241, 242; refuses justice 
to William Marten, 242; re- 
prisals against, 243; seizure of 
English ships by, ibid.; tries 
to ruin English trade, 252; ac- 
tion against the English, 282; 
commercial power of, 286; 
favored by Sigismund Au- 



gustus, 287; quarrel with King 
Stephan, 287-289; attacks El- 
bing and her commerce, 289- 
292 ; opposes the English, 292 ; 
tries to persuade Elbing 
against the English, 295; re- 
luctance of some Englishmen 
to leave, 299; reconciliation 
with King Stephan, 304 ; yields 
revenue to the King, 305; 
tries to expel the English 
from Elbing, 313; representa- 
tives of, heard by Polish com- 
mission, 314; declares against 
free trade, ibid. 

Debts, remitted, 138; collection 
of, 154, 155, 157, 159, 177, 202. 

Denmark, protests to Elizabeth 
against exportation of arms to 
Russia, 58; controls Baltic 
trade through the Sound, 222; 
tolls at the Sound, 232; pro- 
tests against English aid to 
Sweden, 236 ; threatens to close 
the Sound, 237 > seizes English 
merchants, 238; demands dam- 
ages for depredations by Eng- 
lish pirates, 249; embassy 
sent to, 250; seizes English 
goods, 274, 275; relations with 
England in regard to Baltic 
trade, 281; aids Dantzig 
against King Stephan and the 
Elbingers, 288, 290. 

Deputy Governor of the East- 
land Company, 265, in the 
East Parts, 268, 322. 

Derbend, factors at, 147, 189, 
190; merchants expelled from, 
190. 

Duckett, Geoffrey, 40, 43, 64, 84; 
factor for Persia, 175; in 
charge in Persia, 179; return 
of, to England, 182, 184; views 
of, on Baltic trade, 222. 

Dutch merchants in Russia, 80n., 
86, 88. 



336 



INDEX 



East India Company, 25, 98, 113, 
114, 210. 

Eastland Company, its inception, 
248-254; official name of, 255; 
purpose of, 255-256; geograph- 
ical monopoly of, 256-258; 
membership, 258-259; eligi- 
bility for membership, 261- 
262; entrance fees, 262-263; 
relations with other Com- 
panies, 263; internal organiza- 
tion, 265; powers of, 266, 269- 
271; seat of government, 266- 
267; Elbing court, 267-269; 
tries to limit membership, 271- 
272; considered easy of access, 
272; number of members of, 
273 ; relations with English gov- 
ernment, arising from piracy, 
273-279; taxed by the govern- 
ment, 279; relations with 
English government, arising 
from interlopers, 279-280; re- 
lations arising from diplomatic 
affairs, 280-284; jurisdiction of 
governor of, in Elbing, 309. 

Edward Bonaventure, The, 5, 10, 
13, 16, 17, 97, 99, 100. 

Edward VI, letter sent with first 
voyage of Muscovy Company, 
7-8; letter delivered by Chan- 
cellor, 14; Ivan IV's reply, 
15-16; buys ship-stores of 
Hansards, 221 ; his proclama- 
tion against the Steelyard, 240. 

Edwards, Arthur, factor for 
Persia, 156; privileges granted 
to, 157, 169, 170; criticism of, 
on Richard Johnson, 159; esti- 
mate of, on Persian trade, 160, 
161, 171, 199; in charge of 
expedition, 167, 188; wares re- 
quested by, for Persia, 198. 

Elbing, deserts principles of 
Hanseatic League, 245; Eng- 
lish wares in, 246; anxious to 
attract English trade, 252; 



court of the Eastland Com- 
pany at, 268; made depot of 
Polish commerce, 289; grants 
free trade, ibid.; attacked by 
Dantzig, 289-292; receives the 
English, 293 ; negotiations with 
Eastland Company begun, ibid. ; 
made depot for English goods 
in the Baltic, 294; sends for 
Treaty of Hamburg, 299; its 
partial ratification of Rogers' 
treaty, 303; appeal to Eliza- 
beth to send an envoy, 305, 
306; treaty with, 308-312; 
privileges of citizens of, in 
England, 312. 

Elbing, Burgomaster of, 298, 320. 

Elizabeth, Queen, invited by Em- 
peror Ferdinand to join league 
against Russia, 56; urged not 
to send stores to Russia, 57; 
accused by Hamburg and Co- 
logne of aiding Russia, ibid.; 
denies charges, ibid.; issues 
proclamation prohibiting ex- 
portation of armor to Russia, 
58; customer of Muscovy Com- 
pany, 71-72; letter of, to Czar, 
143; letter of, to Shah, 144, 
186, 188; rejects Russian al- 
liance, 173, 183. 

Embassies, expenses paid by mer- 
chants, 65, 66, 69, 69n., 70, 
282. 

Entertainment of Russian am- 
bassadors in England, 66, 69- 
70. 

Eric XIV, King of Sweden, re- 
quests leave to export cloth, 
231; tries to procure aid from 
England, 236, 238. 

Estates General, Polish, 316. 

Exports, to Russia, 96; to Baltic 
countries, 230-233, 245-247. 

Factors of Muscovy Company, 
see Agents. 



INDEX 



337 



Feathers, imported from Russia, 
96. 

Felt, imported from Russia, 17, 
43. 

Fenton, John, letter to Lord 
Burghley, 44. 

Feodor, Czar, 89, 92. 

Ferdinand, Emperor, invites 
Elizabeth to join league 
against Russia, 56; urges her 
not to send stores to Russia, 
57. 

Firley, Nicholas, 317. 

Flax, imported from Russia, 94, 
95. 

Fletcher, Giles, evidence on ex- 
portation of contraband to 
Russia, 59; embassy to Russia, 
65; trading privileges secured 
by, 90-91, 192; silk trade de- 
scribed by, 203. 

Fludd, Roger, 250, 261, 299. 

Forfeiture, penalty for interlopers 
of Russian trade, 52-53; of 
bond, 276. 

Founders' Hall, 269n. 

Foxall, John, 261. 

Frankland, William, 225. 

Frobisher, Martin, voyages of, 
113, 187. 

Furner, Simeon, agent for James 
I in the Baltic countries, 229, 
285. 

Furs, imported from Russia, 17, 
36, 43, 94, 95; imported from 
Baltic countries, 230. 



Garrisons, English, in the Low 
Countries, 227. 

George, The, expedition of, 106, 
109, 111. 

Georgia, proposed visit to, 151. 

Gerrard, William, Governor of 
Muscovy Company, 27, 28, 68. 

Ghilan, location of, 142; ad- 
vantages of, 160, 161; proposed 



negotiations with, 167; visited, 
168; proposed trade with, 189. 

Gilbert, Humphrey, member of 
Muscovy Company, 37; ad- 
dresses memorial to the Queen, 
112. 

Gittens, William, 226. 

Gloucester, 226. 

Glover, Thomas, 40; private 
trading of, 79, 155, 173; privi- 
leges of, revoked, 82, 174; third 
expedition organized by, 156; 
grant to, for Persian trade, 
201, 202. 

Glover, Robert, 43. 

Gnesne, Archbishop of, 321. 

Godounof, Boris, 91, 92. 

Governor, of Muscovy Company, 
Sebastian Cabot the first, 3, 
16; term of office, 25; dual 
governorship of Muscovy Com- 
pany, 25-28; occupants of the 
office, 29-30; of Eastland Com- 
pany, 265; powers of, 270; 
arbitrates in trade dispute, 
274; instructions to, 284; 
jurisdiction in Elbing, 309. 

Grain, imported from Baltic 
countries, 224-228. 

Gray, Richard, agent of Mus- 
covy Company, 16, 35, 56. 

Gresham, Thomas, imports nitre, 
229; his advice to Elizabeth, 
241. 

Grudzinski, Stephan, 313. 

Gun-powder, imported from Bal- 
tic countries, 229. 

Gurney, Richard, 250. 

Haddon, Dr., 243. 

Hamburg, Senate of, accuses 
Elizabeth of aiding Russia, 57 ; 
grain from, 226; defection 
from principles of Hanseatic 
League, 244; Eastland mer- 
chants not permitted to sell 
goods in, 258; Merchant Ad- 



338 



INDEX 



venturers expelled from, 292; 
furnishes precedent to Elbing, 
295. 

Hamburg, Treaty of, to be used 
as model for treaty with El- 
bing, 297; copy of, to be sent 
to Elbing, ibid.; need for, by 
Rogers, 298; not sent to El- 
bing, 301. 

Hammond, Dr. John, 303. 

Hanseatic League, competition of 
English merchants with, 239- 
245; negotiations with Eng- 
land, 241-242; disintegration 
of, 244; ruled the Baltic trade, 
286; quarrel with England, 
292. 

Harte, Sir John, Governor of 
Muscovy Company, 28, 30. 

Harwich, merchants of, 250. 

Hastings, Lady Mary, 69. 

Hawarde, Rowland, Governor of 
Muscovy Company, 27, 28, 30. 

Hawkins, John, 71. 

Hawsers, purchased from Mus- 
covy Company, 71. 

Hemp, imported from Russia, 36, 
95. * 

Herbert, John, ignores Hanse 
affairs, 293; chosen as ambas- 
sador to Poland, 306; instruc- 
tions to, 307; goes to Elbing, 
ibid.; visits Dantzig, 307; his 
treaty with Elbing, 308-312; 
received by Polish commission, 
314; secures support of the 
commissioners, 315; his audi- 
ence at Lublin, 316; activities 
at Lewartow, 318; makes con- 
cession, ibid.; visits the Arch- 
bishop of Gnesne, 320; urges 
home government to aid, 321 ; 
negotiation with Elbingers, 
322; grant of privileges to the 
Elbingers, 324. 

Hereford, County of, 226. 

Hides, imported from Russia, 95. 



Hilson, Robert, 250, 261, 299. 

Hobbes, Giles, overland route in- 
vestigated by, 193. 

Hoddesdon, Christopher, 260. 

Holme, Christopher, agent of 
Muscovy Company, 39. 

Horsey, Jerome, 66; mission to 
England from Russia, 89, 187; 
secures trading privileges in 
Russia, 89-90, 192; his esti- 
mate of the value of Muscovy 
Company's stock, 98. 

Hubblethorne, Morgan, sent to 
Persia, 191. 

Hull, freedom of Muscovy Com- 
pany extended to certain mer- 
chants of, 38; ships of, 243; 
merchants of 250; port of, 279. 

Hyder Mirza, English favored by, 
176, 177. 

Hyrcania, trading rights granted 
to Muscovy Company, 50. 

Imports, from Russia, 94-96; 
from Baltic countries, 221-230. 

Impressment, 5, 112. 

India, proposed journey to, 143, 
177; failure to reach, 197; 
possibilities of, in trade, 199. 

Interlopers, trading with Russia, 
39, 52, 52-53; trading with 
Baltic countries, 279-280. 

Ipswich, merchants of, 250; port 
of, 279. 

Ivan IV (the Terrible), 13, 14; 
Chancellor at court of, 14-17, 
128; conquers Astrakhan, 14, 
131; replies to letter of Ed- 
ward VI, 15-16; offer of friend- 
ship accepted by Philip and 
Mary, 21; diplomatic relations 
of, with England, 60-65, 66-69, 
85, 172, 174, 178, 183, 184, 185, 
187; effects of death of, on 
Muscovy Company, 87-88; per- 
mits passage to East, 131; 
shares in Persian trade, 144, 



INDEX 



339 



145, 152, 153, 155, 174; rela- 
tion of, to Persian venture, 
202, 203; later years of, 208; 
privileges granted by, to Mus- 
covy Company, see Privileges 
of Muscovy Company. 

Jackman, Charles, voyage to 
north-east, 106-111, 130, 186. 

James I, has agent in the Baltic 
countries, 224. 

Jaroslav, point of departure, 154, 
156, 167, 175, 201, 206. 

Jenkinson, Anthony, evidence on 
exportation of contraband from 
England, 59; in Russia, 50, 
61-63, 66, 83-84, 131, 146, 164, 
184; receives grant of privi- 
leges from Czar, 83-84, 164; 
reaches Bokhara, 137; achieve- 
ment of, 141, 142, 153; opinion 
of, on Persian trade, 141, 142, 
199; expedition of, to Persia, 
143, 146; authority of, 145; 
argument of, against Turks, 
148; failure of, in Persia, 152; 
indebtedness of, to Russians, 
203. 

Johnson, Richard, accompanies 
Jenkinson, 132; private trad- 
ing of, 155; chief factor for 
Persia, 156; inefficiency of, 
159. 

Joint Stock Company, the Mus- 
covy Company a, 4, 38-45. 



Kanin, Cape, 101, 103. 
Kara Sea, 109. 
Kara Strait, 108. 
Karnkowski, Stanislaus, 301. 
Kashan, English factors at, 179, 

197. 
Kazvin, English factors at, 176, 

196, 197, 205. 
Kegor, 109. 
Kemerlinke, Peter, 299. 



Kersies, for Persia, 145, 198. 
Kholmogory, 77, 78, 82, 85, 88, 

94, 103. 
Killigrew, John, 277. 
Killingworth George, 16, 35, 93. 
Kitchin, Alexander, factor for 

Persia, 156; death of, 157. 
Knopper, Albert, 237. 
Kola River, 100. 
Kolguev, 101, 103, 111. 
Kostka, John, 301. 



Lane, Henry, agent of Muscovy 
Company, 56. 

Langton, John, 295. 

Lawsuits between English mer- 
chants and Russian subjects, 
78. 

Lead, exported to Baltic coun- 
tries, 233. 

Levant, route, 205, 206; Com- 
pany, 210. 

Levartow, commission of, in- 
structions to, 317; activities 
of, 318-320; Colloquies of, 323. 

Lewes, Dr., 244. 

Lewfoot, 10. 

Liesemann, George, 225. 

Livonia, 14, 56, 57. 

Lok, Humphrey, letter to Lord 
Burghley, 44. 

Lok, Michael, agent of Muscovy 
Company, 35; secures privi- 
lege from Muscovy Company, 
113. 

Lodge, Thomas, Governor of Mus- 
covy Company, 27, 29. 

London, mayors and sheriffs as 
Governors of Muscovy Com- 
pany, 29-30; municipal au- 
thorities provide for import 
of grain, 227-228; Lord Mayor 
instructed to levy tax on East- 
land merchants, 249-252; port 
of, 279. 

Long, Edward, 226. 



340 



INDEX 



Lublin, convocation at, 316. 

Mangishlak, port of, 133; coun- 
try of, 134. 

Mariners, English, to sail vessels 
of Muscovy Company, 53; li- 
cense requested to hire three 
Liibeckers' vessels, 53-54. 

Marsh, Anthony, agent of Mus- 
covy Company, 111. 

Marten, William, 242-244. 

Mary, Queen, letter of Ivan IV 
presented to, 16; grants char- 
ter to Muscovy Company, 16, 
129; grants requests of Ivan 
IV, 55; letters from, to Ivan 
IV, 128. 

Masts, imported from Eussia, 96. 

Maximilian II, Emperor, 287. 

Media, trading rights granted to 
Muscovy Company, 50. 

Membership, of Muscovy Com- 
pany, admission to, 32; list 
of members in 1555, 37, 116- 
120; of Eastland Company, 
258-261; eligibility for, 261. 

Mercator, Gerard, letter to Hak- 
luyt, 106. 

Merchant Adventurers, in Ant- 
werp, 220; in Germany, ibid.; 
export cloth, 230; given resi- 
dence in Hamburg, 244; ob- 
ject to charter of Eastland 
Company, 254; furnish model 
for organization of Eastland 
Company, 255, 266 ; hold terri- 
torial monopoly with Eastland 
Company, 257; object to re- 
quests of Eastland merchants, 
257, 263; to be admitted to 
Eastland Company, 264; help 
with expenses of embassy to 
Denmark, 283. 

Michiel, Giovanni, Venetian am- 
bassador, 12, 24. 

Mikouleve, Gregory, Russian am- 
bassador, 69, 92. 

Money, limited amount to be car- 



ried out of England by East- 
land merchants, 271. 

Moscow, 14, 78, 80, 81, 84, 98. 

Munitions of war sent to Russia, 
see Contraband. 

Muscovy House, destroyed in 
Great Fire, 22, meetings of 
Muscovy Company held at, 33 ; 
location of, 33, 34n. ; ore 
smelted at, 113. 

Napea, Osep, first Russian am- 
bassador to England, 17; 
wrecked on coast of Scotland, 
18; reception in England, 18- 
21; departure from England, 
21; carries friendly letter to 
Ivan IV, 55; intervenes for 
Jenkinson, 146. 

Narva, 39, 50-52, 76-77, 162, 163, 
172, 173, 174. 

Naval stores, see Ship-stores. 

Navigation, dangers of, 133, 147, 
166, 180. 

Newcastle, freedom of Muscovy 
Company extended to certain 
merchants of, 38; grain from 
Dantzig taken to, 228; coals 
from, exported to Baltic coun- 
tries, 233; ships of, at Dant- 
zig, 243, 244; merchants of, 
250; port of, 279. 

New Trades, Company for Dis- 
covery of, name given to Mus- 
covy Company by second char- 
ter, 24. 

Nitre, imported from Baltic 
countries, 229. 

Nobility, Polish, 288, 315, 316, 
319, 323. 

Noblemen among membership of 
Muscovy Company, 37, 44, 116. 

Nogat, the, 289, 291. 

North Cape, named by Stephen 
Bur rough, 100. 

Nova Zembla, 101, 105, 107, 146. 

Novgorod, 81. 



INDEX 



341 



Oath, required of Muscovy Com- 
pany employees, 5, 42; admin- 
istered to members on admis- 
sion to Muscovy Company, 36- 
37. 

Obi River, 102, 105, 107, 108, 111, 
112. 

Offley, Hugh, 227, 250, 260, 300. 

Oprichnina, jurisdiction of, 81. 

Orange, Prince of, 235. 

Ormuz, proposed expedition to, 
143, 167, 169; route to, 161; 
closing of, 168, 169; impor- 
tance of, 198, 199. 

Osborne, Edward, 260, 261. 



Pechora, 100, 101, 104. 

Persia, trading rights granted to 
Muscovy Company, 50; mon- 
opoly granted to Muscovy 
Company by the Czar, 80 ; rela- 
lations with Rusia, 139 ; six 
expeditions to, 143, 195; rela- 
tions of, with Turks, 143, 149, 

150, 158; commodities of, 171, 
199; Turkish victories over, 
189, 209; accessibility of, 196; 
route to, 196, 206, 207; chief 
cities of, 198; confusion in, 
208, 209. 

Persian trade, considered, 140; 
undertaken, 142 ; advantages 
of, 142, 143; instructions of 
Muscovy Company concerning, 
144, 145, 165; argument con- 
cerning, 148; difficulties of, 

151, 154, 170, 171; privileges 
granted for, 157, 158, 169, 170, 
177; base of, threatened, 178, 
186; estimate of, 181; tem- 
porary abandonment of, 182, 
186; end of, 192, 209; pro- 
posed revival of, 193; charac- 
ter of route for, 196, 206, 207 ; 
extent and possibilities of, 197, 

199, 200; organization of, 200, 



201; evils connected with, 201, 
202; Russian influence upon, 
202, 203; elements of weakness 
in, 204; dependence of, upon 
rulers, ibid.; competition in, 
205; affected by other routes, 
210. 

Pet, Arthur, voyage to north- 
east, 106-111, 130, 186. 

Peterson, John, despoiled of his 
ship, 248; restitution to him, 
249. 

Pewter, exported to Russia, 96. 

Philip and Mary, The, 16, 17, 97. 

Piracy, menace to trade, 234- 
235 ; of Hicks and Callice leads 
to formation of Eastland Com- 
pany, 248-249; brings about 
relations between Eastland 
Company and English govern- 
ment, 273-279. 

Pissemsky, Russian ambassador, 
69. 

Plesko (Pskoff), 81. 

Plumpton, customer, 229. 

Plumtree, Lionel, factor for 
Persia, 175; attempt of, to 
reach Cathay, 177, 178; opin- 
ion of Persian trade, 181. 

Pogorella, Theodore, Russian 
merchant, 66. 

Poland, King of, interdicts com- 
merce with Russia, 58-59. 

Poluticze, Peter, 313. 

Pomerania, Duke of, forbids ex- 
port of nitre, 229. 

Potash, imported from Baltic 
countries, 230. 

Privileges, of Muscovy Company 
in Russia, 15-16, 74-76, 77-78, 
80-82, 89-90, 92, 129, 152, 153, 
164, 174, 184, 192; plot to 
annul, 79; withdrawn (1571), 
82; restored, 83; again threat- 
ened, 85; in Persia, 153, 157, 
158, 169, 170, 177; of East- 
land Company in Elbing, nego- 



342 



INDEX 



tiations for, at Elbing, 293- 
308; stipulations, 308-312. 

Privy Council, sends instructions 
to sheriffs for safe conduct of 
Russian ambassador, 18n. ; pe- 
titioned by Muscovy Company 
to restrain interlopers, 39; pe- 
tioned by Muscovy Company to 
restrain Bond and others 
from trading to Narva, 51; 
orders English merchants 
in Dantzig to wait for Eng- 
lish agent, 221 ; makes pro- 
vision for import of grain, 225, 
226; provides for indemnifica- 
tion of Peterson, 249-250; 
taxes Eastland merchants for 
embassy to Denmark, 250; de- 
cides against a narrow inter- 
pretation of Eastland Com- 
pany's charter, 272; taxes 
Eastland Company for indem- 
nification of Danes, 273-278; 
protects Eastland Company 
against interlopers, 279-280; 
taxes Eastland Company for 
entertainment and support of 
ambassadors, 282-284 ; recalls 
Rogers from Poland, 302. 

Prussia, Duke of, grants English 
merchants permission to trade, 
241; to be visited by English 
ambassador, 297; visited by 
Herbert, 324. 

Pullison, Thomas, 250; raises 
funds to pay to Peterson, 251; 
reports desire of Eastland mer- 
chants for a charter, 253; 
prominence as a merchant, 
260; Governor of Eastland 
Company, 265. 



Querneby, Ralph, 223. 

Randolph, Sir Thomas, ambas- 
sador to Russia, 64, 67-68, 173, 



174, 183; secures trading privi- 
leges from Czar, 80-82, 174; 
commissions Bassendine to 
make voyage of discovery, 104, 
105. 

Records of Muscovy Company, 
probably destroyed, 22. 

Robbers, 136, 137, 140, 159, 178, 
207; on Caspian, 180. 

Rope industry in Russia, 36, 94. 

Rogers, John, reports on trade 
in Elbing, 246; chosen as am- 
bassador to Poland, 296; his 
preparations, ibid.; his in- 
structions, 296-297; his charges 
against certain merchants, 299- 
300; visits Polish court, 301; 
recalled from Poland , 302 ; 
draws up treaty, ibid.; fail- 
ure as a diplomat, 304. 

Rost Island, 9. 

Route, overland, sought by Eng- 
lish merchants, 130, 131, 192, 
193; to Cathay, impracticable, 
142, 196; proposed revival of, 
193; failure of, to India, 197; 
character of, 196, 206, 207; 
time required for, 206, 207; 
dangers of, 207; superseded, 
209, 210; falls to Russia, 210. 

Russell, Thomas, 260; deputy 
governor of Eastland Com- 
pany, 265; reluctant to leave 
Dantzig, 300. 

Russell, Sir William, 65. 

Russia, English relations estab- 
lished, 13-21; diplomatic in- 
tercourse (1554-1600), see 
Ambassadors ; trading privi- 
leges in, 15-16, 74-76, 77-78, 
80-82, 83, 89-90, 92, 128, 129, 
152, 164, 174, 192; English 
trade with, 93-99; conquests 
of, 132; trade of, with Persia, 
139; situation in, 172, 178; 
relations of, with Asia, 202, 
203. 



RD « &' 



INDEX 



343 



Salkins, William, agent for East- 
land Company to Elbing, 296; 
to carry Treaty of Hamburg, 
297; fails to bring it, 298; re- 
luctant to leave Dantzig, 300; 
advises concession at Levar- 
tow, 319. 

Samoeds, the, 102, 111. 

Sarikamdsh, Lake, 134. 

Savage, Kobert, 223. 

Saviena, Andreas Gregorowich, 
Russian ambassador, 67, 68-69, 
174, 183. 

Scaramelli, Giovanni Carlo, 232, 
247. 

Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of, 231. 

Searchthrift, The, voyage of, 99- 
103, 130. 

Senators, of Poland, 287. 

Sergeants of Muscovy Company, 
34, 47. 

Seymour, Edward, 278. 

Shabran, port of, 147, 179. 

Shemakha, 148, 149, 156, 167, 
168, 176, 178, 201, 203; deso- 
lated by Turks, 189; starting 
point in Persia, 196, 197, 206 ; 
destruction of, 209. 

Ship-stores, imported from Rus- 
sia, 70-72, 94; imported from 
Baltic countries, 221-224. 

Shirvan, location of, 142; con- 
ditions in, 149; commodities 
of, ibid.; privileges obtained in, 
151, 153, 161; confusion in, 
156, 157, 159. 

Sigismund Augustus, King of 
Poland, permits English to 
purchase ship-stores in Dant- 
zig, 222; English appeal to, 
286; death of, 287. 

Silk, imported by Muscovy Com- 
pany, 96; production of, 142, 
198; trade in, 179, 199, 201, 
203. 

Smith, Sir Thomas, 225. 

Smith, William, 40. 



Soap-ashes, imported from Baltic 

countries, 230. 
Sound, The, 234. 
Spain, rivalry with England for 

ship-stores, 223. 
Spain and Portugal, the Mer- 
chants trading, 254, 260, 264, 

271. 
Sparke, John, factor for Persia, 

167; proposed factor for Or- 

muz, 167. 
Spices, imported by Muscovy 

Company, 96. 
Sprengel, John, 289. 
Stafford, Richard, 6. 
Staper, Richard, 260, 261. 
Statute of 1566, see Charter of 

Muscovy Company, Second. 
Steelyard, The, 221, 225, 230, 

241, 243, 245. 
Stephan, King of Poland, see 

Bathory. 
Stock-fish, imported from Baltic 

countries, 230. 
Sylvester, Daniel, negotiations of, 

with Russia, 85, 185; death 

of, ibid. 



Tabriz, market at, 168, 176, 178. 
Tahmasp, Shah, death of, 209. 
Tallow, imported from Russia, 

17, 36, 94, 95. 
Tar, imported from Russia, 96. 
Tartars, wars of, 175, 188, 208, 

209; besiege Astrakhan, 175, 

188. 
Teutonic Knights, treaties with, 

286, 296. 
Thorne, Robert, letter to Henry 

VIII, 2. 
Timur Sultan, trouble with, 134. 
Tin, exported to Baltic coun- 
tries, 233. 
Tolls, in Poland, 293, 305, 312, 

315, 318. 
Tower son, William, 261. 



344 



INDEX 



Trade, private, to Persia, 155, 
162, 173, 201, 202. 

Train oil, imported from Russia, 
17, 36, 94, 95. 

Turks, rivalry of, 139, 150, 168, 
199, 204, 205; relations of, 
with Persia, 143, 158; argu- 
ment against, 148; besiege 
Astrakhan, 175; conquests of, 
189, 191, 209; sixth expedi- 
tion checked by, 209. 

Twerdico, Stephen, Russian mer- 
chant, 66. 

Tynnacre, Thomas, 273-274. 

Urgendj, state of, 135. 

Utrecht, Treaty of, provides for 
reciprocal privileges, 239; is 
violated, 240; validity of, 286, 
296. 

Vardohuus, 10, 11, 13, 77, 109. 

Venetian merchants, in Russia, 
80n., 85; argument against, 
148; rivalry of, 199, 204, 205. 

Vistula, the, 288. 

Vitriol, imported from Baltic 
countries, 230. 

Vologda, 78, 81, 93, 94. 

Voyages, Persian, number of, 
143, 195; first of, organized, 
143, 146, 147; second, 152, 
154; third, 156; two planned, 
166; fourth, 166, 167; fifth, 
175; estimate of fifth, 181; 
temporary abandonment of, 
182, 186; sixth, 188; failure 
of, 190; later, proposed, 193; 
object of, 195; route for, 196; 
control of Muscovy Company 
over, 200; time required for, 



206, 207; sixth, checked by 
Turks, 209. 

Waigatz, 101, 102, 105, 107, 109, 
110. 

Walsingham, Sir Francis, 44, 
321; member of Muscovy Com- 
pany, 37. 

Wardhouse, The, see Vardohuus. 

Watson, William, 284; sent to 
Dantzig to purchase ship- 
stores, 222; ordered to buy 
grain in Baltic countries, 225. 

Wax, imported from Russia, 17, 
43, 44, 71. 

Waymouth, George, 113. 

Wheeler, John, his view of Mus- 
covy Company's right to 
Narva trade, 51-52; gives list 
of English imports, 224, 228, 
230; his opinion of the Eng- 
lish cloth export, 231. 

White Sea, reached by Wil- 
loughby, 11; reached by Chan- 
cellor, 13; annual voyage to, 
21; monopoly of trade to, 77; 
monopoly confirmed, 80. 

Wichida, iron mines at, 81. 

Wilkes, John, 228. 

William, The, voyage of, 106, 
109, 110, 111. 

Willoughby, Sir Hugh, expedi- 
tion of, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 16, 107, 
127. 

Willoughby's Land, 108. 

Winchester, Marquis of, 232. 

Woodcocke, James, 105. 

Wylford, Thomas, 260. 

Yarn, imported from Russia, 94. 

York, freedom of Muscovy Com- 
pany extended to certain mer- 
chants of, 38, 



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